Bleeding Heart
by Chaunceytron
Summary: Third In Forget Me Not Series Lucy is still on her way back home. As she adventures through different worlds, she faces new challenges and makes new friends. Fighting against aimlessness, she is determined to get back to her Mistress, for she is The Master's Companion.
1. New Planet

Long hallways made of stone stretched out before Lucy as she leisurely strolled around the alien base. D'Artagnan, Anti, and Lucy had landed her after being chased into the portal. The last world hadn't been too friendly to them, Lucy noted and brushed her gloved hand through her hair.

One of the jerks had used some kind of laser sword to cut some of her hair off. Not that he'd been aiming for her hair. Luckily Anti had been able to direct her to the nearest portal before she'd lost something that couldn't grow back. It wasn't too noticeable, and she was more worried about her watch. It had gotten slammed against some rocks. She'd been able to repair most of the damage, but unfortunately it needed to recharge, which could take some time.

She'd already used some of that time to explore the new world that she'd landed in. This planet seemed to be desolate. The only creatures that she had seen here were either dead or in some kind of stasis. Lucy was careful not to disturb too much. Exploring the ship had been easy with Anti controlling the base's equipment, but she'd been careful not to open doors too much or keep them open for too long. Something had clearly attacked these aliens, and Lucy wasn't too keen on finding out what had.

A shiver went up Lucy's spine, and she crossed her arms. It was cold inside this place. Lucy had found a heated panic room of some kind in the outer section of the base, but it still wasn't entirely warm. After two days of freezing cold, Lucy hoped that the watch would be ready by tomorrow. A noise made Lucy jolt from her thoughts and turn around quickly. A shadow turned into a squirrel and climbed up Lucy before settling on her shoulder.

"Hello, D'Artagnan, did you have fun exploring?" Lucy asked, petting his head. A shiver went through D'Artagnan, but Lucy couldn't tell if it was from the cold, excitement, or fear.

"Um, Lucy! We've got a problem!" Anti shouted from the watch.

"What now? Did you wake up the big guy?!" Lucy asked and tried to keep calm. One of the aliens in the ship below the base was in stasis, and Anti had been playing around with the computer systems.

"Noooo," Anti answered with annoyance. "I'm not stupid. There's a ship approaching. It looks more like a human ship, but it's too far away for me to get into its systems."

"Damn!"

Lucy looked at her watch. She could probably use it now, but it'd be risky. It had taken a hit, and she didn't want it to short out. She looked toward the exit of the base. Outside the ship, the air was pretty toxic, but she did make a respirator that would work. However, the next base was quite a walk.

"Maybe they're friendly," Lucy whispered hopefully but retreated further into the base. "Maybe they're colonists… or researchers."

"Oh, sure… I guess you wouldn't mind another trim."

"Very funny," Lucy replied irritably but ran a hand through her hair. "But it'd be wise to be careful."

Anti cackled as Lucy navigated her way through the halls before finding the panic room. The door blended into the walls around it as it was made from the same stone. Only by finding and pressing a small groove in the rock could someone get inside. She smiled in relief as the door opened. Quickly stepping inside, she found her laptop as the door closed behind her.

Rigging up cameras around the base and ship had been time-consuming, but it had been worth the effort. Lucy clicked through the feeds to check the cameras. It wasn't long before the visitors appeared in one of the camera's views. One of the men pulled out two metal orbs and released them into the air.

"What's he doing?" Lucy whispered to Anti.

"He said something about 'pups,' Anti replied with amusement and confusion.

The "pups" flew through the air and seemed to be scanning the hallways for something. Lucy followed the one coming her way and sighed with relief when it continued down the hallway. Checking the camera further down the hall from where she'd last seen them, she noticed that someone set off one of the alien's recordings as the green specters ran down the hallway with the people running behind.

"They've found our buddy. The one that lost his head under pressure," Anti commented gleefully.

Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled up the camera feed. The dead guy had tripped, and the door had closed on his neck, decapitating him. Lucy had been in the room, but Anti had been careful to only open the door enough for Lucy to slide underneath.

"Oh, looks like the blonde is going for it," Anti said with a cackle as the blonde one looked at the door switch.

The visitors appeared to be human, and they had decided to take their helmets off, which irritated Lucy. No doubt that they weren't going to be nearly as careful as Lucy had been. Lucy quickly packed up most of her things. She needed to be ready to go if these fools somehow managed to release something.

"Two of them left the group by the way," Anti informed her as she packed. "They got freaked out over one dead body. I hope they find the pile!"

"Hopefully they won't," Lucy replied and looked up to see the blonde messing with the switch. "Is it just me or does he look like he knows what he's doing?"

"Maybe he's the translator."

"Maybe," Lucy muttered as the door opened and Anti laughed.

"I like that guy. David. He's funny."

"Was he not supposed to open the door?"

"Nope!"

"Sounds reckless… like someone else I know," Lucy responded as she zipped up her bag and checked the cameras. "Where are those other guys? They should be getting close to the entrance by now."

They had gone the wrong way in their panic. Lucy finally found them on one of the cameras as an alarm on her watch went off. D'Artagnan seemed to sense her unease and turned into a mouse and crawled inside her sweatshirt pocket.

"Apparently a storm is coming," Anti explained. "Looks like those two will be joining you for a sleepover."

"No, they won't," Lucy said and put the laptop in her backpack. "They don't seem to have weapons."

"They don't, but why are you taking the backpack?"

"That creepy room. I have no idea how much damage they're doing to it or what'll happen when they touch things."

"Dammit, David," Anti said jokingly. "That guy. Always touching things."

Lucy left the safety of her room and jogged around the corridors. Finally finding them, she waved at them, but they didn't notice her approach over their own panicked voices.

"Hey, dipsticks! Wrong way!" Lucy called out, causing them both to flinch. She started running and could hear them trying to keep up as she led them through the corridors. As she rounded a corner, she nearly crashed into the blonde one. David looked at her with a mixture of confusion and… something Lucy couldn't figure out.

"Hey," Lucy said awkwardly as the other two caught up to the group.

"Hello," David replied with his head tilted slightly to the side.

"David, hurry! The storm is coming!" one of the women called out before giving Lucy a confused look.

Lucy quickly put on her helmet with a built-in respirator before following them out to get a look at the storm. The wind gave her pause, and she realized that it was too close for her to make it to one of the other bases before the storm hit. She turned to go back inside when a hand grabbed her arm.

"It's dangerous. Please come with us to the ship," David said imploringly.

Lucy shrugged and followed. Without a doubt, they'd pelt her with questions when they got onto the ship, but at least she'd be in a place with heating. Following David to one of the transports, Lucy noticed the two lost guys sitting inside.

"Thank you," one of them said upon seeing her.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you crazy like those doctors?!" the other asked accusingly. "Trying to meet your maker?"

"No, and I was inside the base first. Who the hell are you?" Lucy snapped back.

The friendlier one spoke up quickly, "Oh, we're researchers. I'm Millburn, and he's Fifield. I'm a biologist. And you are?"

"Lucy," she answered and watched Fifield cross his arms and look away.

"Hello, Lucy," David spoke up and gave Lucy a smile. "I'm David."

"Nice to meet you," Lucy replied as a gust of wind shook the vehicle.

"Yeah, so… are you a researcher?"

"No, college dropout," Lucy responded evenly.

Millburn and David looked confused, but Fifield just let out a bark of laughter before a stronger gust hit the vehicle. They made it into the ship's loading bay, but Lucy saw the alien's head fall out of the other vehicle. The woman dove after it, and Lucy ran to the door to go after her. A hand gently held her back.

"Don't worry, Lucy. I'll assist Dr. Shaw… and Dr. Holloway," David said with a hint of irritation as Dr. Holloway drove out in one of the vehicles. David gave Lucy one last smile before he jumped out of the vehicle.


	2. Prometheus

Lucy watched from one of the windows of the ship as David used a pulley system to retrieve the doctors and the head. After David safely got them back inside, Lucy ran down the hallway and into the elevator with them. She pulled off her helmet and stared at David.

"Yes?" David asked, and Lucy blushed a little.

"Sorry, but… what kind of training did you have? That was almost… superhuman."

"He's a synthetic," Dr. Holloway responded and removed his helmet. "They're made that way. No training necessary."

"Lucky," Lucy murmured under her breath remembering her painful training lessons with Oliver. The elevator opened, and they all stepped out and began taking off their gear.

"This needs to be prepped for examination," Dr. Shaw said and handed the head to someone before turning to Lucy. "Hello there. Are you with another research team?"

"College dropout," Fifield answered as he put his helmet on a bench.

"How did you get here?" a blonde woman asked with a cold stare at Lucy.

"I was in a ship. It crashed, and somehow, I survived. I've been in that base for a couple days," Lucy answered quickly. "I was planning on moving to a different one, but the storm…"

"There's more than one?" Dr. Shaw asked with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Uh, yeah. I doubt that it's much different from the one you were just inside. The whole place seems… forgotten. Abandoned, maybe. It seems like this was just an outpost of some kind."

"Why do you think that?" the blonde woman asked.

"Well, it doesn't seem too cozy, does it? I mean, they do have heated rooms around the place, but nothing seems to point out that this was a home for them. If anything, this seems to be a research planet… or something like that. I figured that one of their experiments got loose, and…" Lucy stopped talking and shrugged.

"That seems to be an astute analysis," David said thoughtfully. "Although perhaps they didn't value comfort."

Lucy shrugged again and said, "All I'm asking is that you just let me stay in here during the storm. When it clears, I'm gone. I won't tell anyone that you were here, and whatever you're doing… well, that'll be your consequence."

"What do you mean by that?" the blonde woman said, sounding even more irritated.

"I mean that you probably shouldn't go around poking and prodding things just because you can," Lucy explained and noticed more people coming into the room out of curiosity. "That doesn't typically end well, but that'll be your problem. Not mine. I've been inside that place for a couple days now, and I didn't go around and look into things that I'm woefully unprepared to handle. But once again, that's your prerogative."

"'Woefully unprepared'? Do you know something that we don't?"

Lucy glanced into the other room and noticed a glitch on the console. At least Anti was making progress. Once he had control of the ship, Lucy wouldn't really need to worry about much.

"Her pocket moved!" a man yelled and pointed a weapon at Lucy.

"Easy there, cowboy," Lucy said calmly and held up her arms. She didn't care about getting herself shot but didn't want him to get injured. "D'Artagnan, come out slowly."

D'Artagnan slowly crawled out of her pocket and perched on her shoulder. Hopefully, no one was deathly afraid of mice.

"What is that?" the blonde asked and took a step back.

"D'Artagnan," Lucy replied as he hid in Lucy's hair. "He's harmless as long as you don't try to hurt him."

"Hey, little fellow," Millburn said softly and approached Lucy carefully. "Is it okay if I pet him?"

"Sure. Just be gentle," Lucy said, and Millburn nodded.

Millburn's face broke out in a smile as D'Artagnan left Lucy's hair and let Millburn pet him.

"That's not a mouse from Earth, is it?" Millburn asked her excitedly. "Is it from here?"

"No, a friend gave him to me before she died. She didn't really know where he was from either."

"So now there's a mystery girl and animal on my ship?" the woman said to no one in particular.

"Vickers," a man said calmly with a deep voice. "They don't seem too vicious to me, and she seems to know the 'base' better than we do. Having her on the ship will probably do us more good than bad."

Vickers still looked irritated and walked off after David. She ordered someone to inform her when the prep work was finished. Lucy turned back to Millburn to see D'Artagnan running up and down his arms as Millburn smiled in delight.

"He's amazing," Millburn said and looked at Lucy. "Can he breathe the air outside? Didn't that affect him?"

"Yeah, he seems to be fine with it. He went out exploring a couple times while I was in the base."

Millburn watched as D'Artagnan jumped back to Lucy and hid in her pocket.

"Lucy," David said and reentered the room. "There is a place where you can put your belongings if you wish."

"Oh, thanks," Lucy replied and followed him out of the room. "And thanks for inviting me. Sleeping in the base was… uncomfortable to say the least."

David looked at her with surprise before responding, "My pleasure."

He led her to a small room. Lucy looked at the bed longingly before putting her bag on the floor beside it. She looked up to see David giving her a measured look.

"You are free to use this room if you require sleep," he said, and Lucy smoothed her hair nervously.

"No, thanks. I kind of want to see what happens with that head," Lucy explained.

David nodded and gave her a smile. "I understand. Would you like for me to alert you when it's ready?"

"Uh… no. You don't have to do that. I'll probably just wait with Dr. Shaw. That'll be easier for all of us."

David tilted his head as though not completely understanding what she had just said and replied, "'Easier for all of us'?"

"Yeah. That way whoever comes to get Dr. Shaw will let me know too. I don't want to be a complete inconvenience. A small one is fine," Lucy replied with a smirk.

David gave her another smile, and they walked back to the briefing room. Dr. Shaw was giving a speech while Dr. Holloway was getting something to drink. Dr. Shaw and Dr. Holloway seemed to argue for a little while before one of the staff called for Dr. Shaw. David excused himself to get Vickers, and Lucy followed Dr. Shaw into the room. She stayed to the back as David entered in a lab coat and gave her a nod.

"Are they all dead then?" Vickers said as she entered the room. "Your Engineers? Are they all dead, or aren't they?"

"Probably not," Lucy spoke up, earning a glare from Vickers. "If this was just a base, they could be elsewhere."

"That's your 'professional opinion,' Lucy the college dropout?" Vickers asked snidely.

"As someone who's dealt with aliens far more than you… yeah, that's my professional opinion."

"And how do you know that? All of the ones you 'dealt' with are dead. Unlike you, we're staffed with qualified people, so I don't understand why you think we're so 'unprepared.'" Vickers replied irritably as Dr. Shaw talked to the other doctor about the head.

"How many people do you have on this ship? Less than 30?"

Vickers crossed her arms in response.

"Because you honestly didn't expect to find anything… or…"

"Or what?" Vickers snapped as David removed the alien's helmet to reveal a humanoid face.

Lucy spoke in a low voice, "Or because you're all expendable. If all someone wanted was to find out that there was something out here, then… what use do they have for you guys? Sure, it'd be great if you came back with something but probably not necessary."

"This ship is anything but expendable to the Weyland Corporation."

"Perhaps, but what about the crew?"

Vickers glared at Lucy but didn't say anything.

"Lucy, you might wanna pay attention," Anti said mischievously. "They're about to Frankenstein this dude."

"Wait, what's going on here?" Lucy asked as they turned on some kind of tool.

They kept turning the voltage up until the head began to twitch uncontrollably. Lucy silently watched in a mixture of horror and fascination. Suddenly the head began to swell, and Dr. Shaw shouted for it to be contained. A glass case enveloped it. As a burst of air attempted to decontaminate it, the head burst, splattering the case with fluid and bits.

"Mortal after all," David whispered, and Lucy looked at his disappointed face.

"What does that mean, David?" Anti said as though now suspicious.

Lucy left the room and quickly headed for the room where her things were being stored. After closing the door, she whispered to Anti, "Have you searched the ship? Found anything strange?"

"Not really… well, there is one thing. This ship has quite a few stasis pods… All of them are empty except one. I don't know who's inside, and you'd have to give me permission as I might need to go inside someone's head to get the answers."

Lucy considered her options. She could always leave this to fate, but that wouldn't be very heroic. It was likely that some main executive of this Weyland company could be here or looking for some profitable venture. David had said something about mortality. Were they looking for a way to become immortal, or was that just David's disappointment? Those corpses had lasted a couple thousand years without disintegrating. If there was someone looking into immortality, this would be a great way to start.

"Okay," Lucy said hesitantly. "But if you can't do it without hurting them, then stop. Got it?"

"Aye aye, Captain," Anti said gleefully before disappearing.


	3. Being Human

Lucy sat on the bed and shuffled a deck of cards as she waited for Anti to return. Playing solitaire had made her relax somewhat, but she felt the tingles of nervousness. The sound of footsteps made her look up from deck. David stood by the door with an odd look on his face.

"There is food in the cafeteria if you're hungry," David offered with a smile.

"You really don't have to do that, you know," Lucy said and looked back down at the cards as she continued shuffling them.

"Do what?"

"Smile and ask me if I need things. I… I'm good on my own, and I can tell that the smile isn't real. You don't have to treat me like a… boss or whatever. I won't be here long," Lucy said and looked up as she heard him get closer.

"Because you plan on leaving? To another base? Why not just stay on the ship? How else are you going to get back to Earth?" David asked while he let D'Artagnan sniff his hand.

"Who says I plan on going back?" Lucy replied breezily. It was true that she needed to find the portal, but she needed to get more supplies before she could continue here. Plus there were quite a few ships on this planet. She could always borrow one until she found the way into the next world.

David just watched her with a calculating look before he responded, "How much do you know about this place?"

"Not a lot. Mostly just guesses like I said before. You guys didn't find the bodies."

"Bodies? No, but we did find one."

"There are more," Lucy admitted and stopped shuffling the cards. "A lot more. A pile of them. And it looks like something ripped through them. If I were you guys, I'd leave the second the storm stops. There's nothing to be gained here… except possibly a painful death."

"Can you show me the room you've been hiding inside?"

"Yes," Lucy agreed uncomfortably. "But… first I need to know why."

David gave her a confused look and knelt beside the bed.

"Why is this place so important to you? And don't say because of the researchers. That's not why they sent this giant ship with only about twenty passengers. They would have sent far more people if they really wanted to study these people."

"People? That's an odd way to talk about them. Dr. Shaw believes that they created humans. I assumed that you'd have more reverence for them."

Lucy openly laughed and responded, "Reverence? Hell no. Even if they did create humanity, they didn't create me; they didn't shape me into the person that I am. I did that. They're just a bunch of scientists playing gods with things that should left alone, and that's probably what got them killed."

David tilted his head thoughtfully and asked, "So you don't think that humanity should have been created?"

Lucy shrugged and replied, "Yeah, no, maybe so. How the hell should I know? Look… I'm not pretending to have all the answers or really any answers to this train wreck, but I do know the look of a situation gone horribly wrong. This place… you're not prepared for it. What did you guys think? That they'd welcome you with open arms?"

"We do have weapons on board," David said but seemed to be thinking over Lucy's words.

"You saw how big those 'Engineers' were and how advanced their tech is… do you think that they didn't have weapons or couldn't defend themselves?"

David went silent and pet D'Artagnan before looking back at Lucy. His look had a way of unsettling Lucy, and she resisted the urge to shift and looked back at him steadily. He was clearly testing her. She just didn't know what the purpose of his inquiry was.

"So why do you want to know more about their deathtrap of a base?"

"Want? That's not a concept that I'm familiar with," David said with a fake smile.

"I don't think that's true," Lucy replied and gripped the cards, remembering the disappointment in his tone when the head had exploded. "The look in your eyes says something else, David. I think that you're more than you pretend to be."

D'Artagnan ran over to Lucy as she got up off the bed. David looked at her as though trying to figure her out as he stood.

"I'm going to see if anyone wants to play a card game with me. You're welcome to join if you want," Lucy said and walked out of the room.

"Don't trust him," Anti said from the watch as Lucy tried to find Millburn. "I listened into his conversation with the human popsicle. I wasn't able to hear most of it, but I got something. He's been given orders to figure out what you know and to 'try harder.'"

Lucy didn't like the sound of that and gave a brief nod to show that she'd heard. That was unfortunate. While she wasn't incredibly fond of David, he seemed to be at least interesting.

"You looking for something?" a man said from one of the rooms. It was the man who had defended her from Vickers' questions earlier.

Lucy smiled and held up the deck of cards as she said, "Just seeing if someone would be interested in a game."

The man smiled and waved her over. He held out a hand and introduced himself as Captain Janek. He then pointed to the men beside him and introduced Chance and Ravel.

"Nice to meet you," Lucy said and put the cards on the table. "I'm not… overly familiar with card games, so if there's something you want to play, you'll need to teach me the rules."

Captain Janek smiled and said, "Sure thing."

"Is it because you're secretly an alien?" Chance asked in a joking tone.

"Oh, yeah. You've caught me. I'm just very, very small and a bit more tanned," Lucy snapped back, causing Ravel to laugh.

They played a few rounds of something called 'Rummy' before Lucy finally got the hang of it. The captain seemed nice enough, but Lucy could tell that he was analyzing her in his own way. There was a shrewdness in his eyes that made Lucy wary. The most dangerous ones were the people who intentionally tried to get people to underestimate them, and Lucy wasn't going to fall for that trap.

"So does your family not play card games?" Chance asked as he laid down a card.

"No… we were more of a… musical night family," Lucy answered hesitantly and glanced at the watch.

"What does that mean?" Ravel asked.

"It means… we played songs and entertained more often. Usually I would play the piano, and my brother would either sing or play with me. If he didn't sing, my parents would. My brother was in a lot of musicals… so usually he'd ask me to help him practice."

Captain Janek looked thoughtful and almost sad, but he gave Lucy a warm smile.

"There's a piano in Vickers' room," Chance said, and Ravel gave him a look. "What? I just happened to peek inside. Tell me that you're not the least bit curious."

"Are you suggesting that we steal a piano?" Lucy asked with a laugh.

"More like 'borrow.' I honestly can't imagine her using it," Chance replied defensively.

"I'm sure that would go well. 'Hey, Ms. Vickers. Could we just borrow your piano for a bit?'" Ravel said, and Chance gave him a look.

"You can play it," Vickers said as Chance, Ravel, and Lucy jumped. "It stays in my room, but go ahead."

Despite her kind offer, Vickers' tone wasn't friendly. If anything, she seemed to be testing Lucy.

Lucy gave her a smile and replied, "Thank you. Don't mind if I do."

As Vickers led them to her room, Lucy looked back at Chance and Ravel, who were trying to get other people to follow them. Hiding her nervousness, Lucy walked calmly behind Vickers until she saw the piano in the room. The tension that Lucy had felt dissipated as she sat at the piano.

"You play?" David asked as he entered the room.

"A bit. Usually there's sheet music, but there's a couple I know even without it," Lucy replied and took a deep breath.

Her fingers touched the keys delicately as she fumbled for what to play, but as Dr. Shaw walked inside the room, Lucy began to play "Hallelujah." So far it had been in most of the worlds that she'd visited, and even if it wasn't in this one, she could play it off as an obscure song. With a start she realized that Captain Janek had started singing the lyrics. They were a little different from the ones she knew, but she smiled as her fingers danced across the keys.

As she finished the song, she looked up to see David watching with interest. She gave him a little smile before Chance started making requests. Ravel started a fight with Chance, and Janek began to referee. Lucy watched Dr. Shaw thoughtfully stroke her cross pendant before she gave Lucy a smile and left. As though sensing the amount of fun was too much, Vickers kicked them out of the room.

"I think she's jealous," Chance said playfully.

Lucy laughed and followed them back into the control room. After all, she still hadn't won a game yet.


	4. Motivations

A yawn made Lucy's ears pop as she stretched wearily. She had managed to get some sleep, but it had been interrupted by Anti's paranoid whining. Every time David came even somewhat close to Lucy's door Anti had started yelling for her to wake up. Lucy figured that he had been making some of it up. There was no way he had come by that many times.

"Anti, thanks for the many, many warnings, but next time… just let me know if someone actually opens the door," Lucy murmured, and Anti made a noncommittal noise.

Quickly getting out of the bed, Lucy got ready to go to the other base. Her watch was fully charged. Lucy wanted to go to Lucifer's but wondered if the portal to the next world would appear soon. Usually it appeared after she accomplished something or needed to move on. She still didn't know what was leading her, but she had figured out a pattern of sorts. Was what she had done here enough? She had kept two scientists from getting lost in an alien bunker. Did it need more than that?

The least she could do was show David the panic room that she'd found, then it'd be up to them to stay alive. By now she knew that she couldn't save everyone. People were going to get themselves into trouble whether she was there or not. She also wanted to retrieve her cameras. While she could always buy more, it seemed like a waste to leave them here.

D'Artagnan jumped into Lucy's pocket as she grabbed her backpack. Walking through the hallway, she soon found Captain Janek looking out at the alien planet. He noticed her and looked at her backpack curiously.

"Going somewhere?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I told Vickers that I only needed to stay for the storm. And I want to retrieve some equipment from the base," Lucy explained quickly.

"Lucy," David said, interrupting Janek. "So, you're going back into the base with us?"

"Uh, yeah. You wanted me to show you where I was staying, right?"

David nodded and said, "Let me know if I can assist you."

"Sure thing," Lucy said and looked back to Janek.

"Kid… Vickers might be the 'authority' on this ship, but I'm still its Captain. Don't feel like you need to leave because she doesn't like you."

Lucy felt her face flush a little and replied, "I'm not a kid… but thank you."

Janek gave her a little smirk before he walked off. Millburn quickly walked up to her with Fifield walking not too far behind.

"Are you sure that you want to go back in there?" Millburn asked nervously.

"Yeah, I left some of my things," Lucy answered and noticed Fifield roll his eyes. "Expensive things. You guys should definitely stay here though. Don't want to get lost again. Besides, David will be there."

"You think a synthetic is going to stand a chance against whatever was chasing after those 'Engineers,'" Fifield asked incredulously.

"I have some faith in him. Besides, I'm pretty hard to kill myself," Lucy said with a grin.

Fifield raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Millburn looked worried. Lucy gave him a reassuring pat on the arm before she walked back to the elevator and put on her helmet. David was already waiting for her in the vehicle bay.

"We can take this car if you want to leave now. It'll be a little while before the others are ready," David explained.

"Sure, let's go," Lucy said before jumping in the side of the vehicle.

Lucy and David rode in silence as they approached the base. What looked to be a skull sat on top of the structure giving Lucy chills. She hadn't noticed it during the storm, and she hadn't bothered to look at the base from the outside. Now she had a sense of foreboding as they approached the structure.

As they got inside, Lucy led him to the room occasionally stopping to dismantle a camera. David gave her an inquisitive look as Lucy searched for the door's ridge. Finally she found it, and the door swung open. David looked around the room briefly pausing to take in the warm air of the room. Lucy continued walking up the hallway and dismantling her cameras.

"David's found the passageway to the ship. You should probably check that out," Anti said in a singsong voice. "He might accidently wake our giant buddy."

"Dammit, David," Lucy whispered and ran back down the hallway.

There was a different entrance on the side of the ship. It would at least allow for Lucy to get the jump on David or hopefully give her time to observe him. Despite their conversation, Lucy had learned nothing about his motives. This could clear some things. Lucy ducked down as she finally made it onboard the ship.

She silently made her way over to the ship's control room and peeked out the hallway. The look on David's face gave her pause as he watched the simulation of the planets; the shock and wonder made Lucy realize that her suspicions were correct. David could likely feel much more than he let on. Soon the simulation was over, and only one planet showed in the hologram: Earth.

Lucy's hands clenched, and she struggled to keep her cool. She had figured out these aliens plans a little while ago. Whatever was on this ship had been headed to Earth, and Lucy had little doubt that it was something disastrous considering what it had done to the Engineers. She backed away and started to quietly retreat.

"Lucy?" David said from much closer than she'd expected. "You knew about this place?"

Lucy turned to face him but took a step back. His eyes didn't seem to be angry, but they did focus on Lucy with a strange intensity.

"Yeah," Lucy admitted with a shrug. "You already know what I think about you guys exploring this place, and I wasn't going to give you more information than you needed... You're better off leaving."

"There's one alive," David said and looked unsurprised when Lucy revealed that she knew with another shrug. "But… you don't think it's a good idea for us to wake him up, do you?"

"No. Not at all. But I suppose you're going to do what you're going to do. Que sera sera," Lucy said and took the last of her cameras from the wall. She held out her hand to David and continued, "It was nice meeting you, but I won't stay to watch you guys get yourselves killed."

David eyed her hand with confusion before taking it and giving it a firm shake. He pondered for a moment before asking, "But where are you going? Another ship? Won't the results be the same?"

"I've got a way for me to leave this place. I just want to check something out first."

Lucy tried to pull her hand away and leave, but he held her hand firmly in his.

"How? You talk about danger for others, but you don't seem to apply that to yourself," David mused.

"It won't put anyone in danger," Lucy replied irritably. "I'm not that much of an ass. To put others in danger for my own goals."

"Why… Do you think that's what I'm doing?" David asked and looked hurt as Lucy finally pulled her hand away.

"Why else are you here? I'm… leaving. You people do what you want. You can't save everyone."

Lucy put the camera in her backpack and started to walk back to the other entrance when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait," David said before they heard shouting.

"Something bad is happening with one of the doctors. He doesn't look so good. They're taking him back to the ship," Anti said but didn't have any of his cavalier attitude.

Lucy quickly bolted out of the ship and through the passageways. As she got to the exit, she noticed that they'd already taken one of the vehicles. Lucy got inside one of the others as David jumped in. She took off driving as fast as it would allow, and they got to the ship in time to see Vickers holding a flamethrower. Dr. Holloway walked toward her, and Lucy watched in horror as Vickers set him on fire. Dr. Shaw screamed and rushed toward him, but Janek stopped her. Lucy turned back to Vickers in a rage. However, the horrified look on Vickers' face made Lucy look away.

Dr. Shaw was passed out on the ground. Lucy walked over to her and looked at Janek. There was a pain in his eyes as he looked toward Holloway's burning corpse. David picked up Dr. Shaw and carried her inside. Lucy debated her next move. They could likely take care of Dr. Shaw, but Lucy wanted to make sure that there was nothing more that she could do before she left. Following David inside, she gave Vickers a gentle touch on her arm. Vickers flinched at the contact.

"It's done, Vickers. Put it down and go inside," Lucy said in a calm voice before following David back inside the ship.


	5. Weyland

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy walked into the medic bay and saw that Dr. Shaw was awake. She breathed a sigh of relief and strolled to her. The screen nearby caught Lucy's attention. Stopping dead in her tracks, she looked at the screen in disbelief. Something was inside Dr. Shaw, and Lucy couldn't help but stare at the screen in abject horror before David tilted it away./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""We need to put you in stasis. We don't have the medical equipment to perform that procedure," David said trying to convince Shaw./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Not entirely true," Anti said, catching Lucy's attention. "There's some kind of medical device in Vickers room."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Can you set off alarms and lock the doors behind me and Shaw?" Lucy whispered, and David turned to look at her in confusion before alarms rang out from the other side of the ship. "Sorry, David. Bo staff."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"D'Artagnan leapt out of her pocket and turned into a bo staff, which Lucy used to knock David off balance before grabbing Shaw and bolting out the door./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Lucy!" David shouted, but the door between them was already sealed./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Shaw stumbled, and Lucy held her up as they rushed to Vicker's room. Clearly, everyone was investigating whatever chaos Anti had created on the other side of the ship. The doors sealed behind them, and Lucy kept a lookout as Dr. Shaw tried to operate the machine before settling on an operation. Shaw injected herself with something before climbing inside the machine with an injector in her mouth. Lucy couldn't help but look away as the machine cut into Shaw. No one seemed to be coming. Even David was mysteriously absent as Lucy scanned the window on the door to Vickers' personal unit. There was a scream, and Lucy ran back to the room to see an odd squid-like creature hanging in the air above Shaw. As Shaw quickly got out of the machine and closed it behind her, Lucy ran to her to hold her up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Shaw quickly pressed another button and the creature was enveloped in a white mist. Lucy held her and set her down on a chair. Blood was everywhere, and Lucy looked around, trying to find something to wrap around Shaw, when Shaw grabbed her arm./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Thank you," Shaw murmured with tears in her eyes. "Thank you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I only did what needed to be done… I am sorry about what I did to David though. He was only trying to go by protocol, I suppose."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""The human popsicle has awakened!" Anti shouted theatrically, and Shaw jumped./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Who?" Shaw asked and looked at the watch./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy sighed and said, "Dr. Shaw, this is Anti. Anti, say hello to Dr. Shaw."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hi," Anti said, sounding smug./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hello," Shaw said in a confused tone. "Is he an AI?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Something like that," Lucy replied. "He created a nice, little distraction for us while we rushed here."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Oh, thank you, Anti," Shaw said gratefully as Lucy handed her a robe./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No problem. It was a lot of fun. Some fire alarms and such. The crowning moment was what I did to Vicky. I kept causing sparks to fly at her and yelled, 'GOD IS ANGRY!' Lot of fun with that one."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""How blasphemous," Lucy said, and Anti cackled. Luckily Lucy hadn't bothered to put down her backpack, so she had everything she needed. D'Artagnan transformed back into a mouse and climbed inside her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Shaw leaned on her as Lucy walked up the corridors./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hey, Lucy! You okay? There's been some weird stuff happening," Millburn said and ran to Lucy as Fifield followed behind. "Vickers got attacked by something claiming to be god. Fire alarms were going off without a fire… are you okay, Doctor?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Millburn noticed the bloodstain on the robe and backed away a little./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yeah, Vickers probably shouldn't go in her room. A bit of a mess," Lucy said breezily. "Can you help Dr. Shaw?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Fifield walked over and let Shaw hold onto him. He said, "We need to get off this place. Now. Any objections, Doctor?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No," Dr. Shaw replied with a steely look in her eyes. "There's nothing here for us but death."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Finally we agree on something," Fifield said and led them down the corridor./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"They reached a room where doctors and David were looking over an old man./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Weyland?" Shaw whispered, and Fifield and Millburn looked shocked to see him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hello, Dr. Shaw," the old man said wearily./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What are you looking for, old man?" Lucy asked harshly, and David looked at her with surprise. "David told you about the Engineer in stasis, didn't he? What are you hoping to get?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Weyland gave her an appraising look and answered, "So, you're that girl. The one on the ship. How much more are you hiding from us? We all have our secrets."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yeah, but I'm not about to get people killed with mine," Lucy retorted icily. "You do know where that ship was headed, don't you? If you wake him, what do you think he's going to do? Give you answers to your questions and let you live. No, that's not how that works."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""And you know all about how these scenarios work?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I know enough. You need to leave now. While you still can."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Are you threatening us?" a man said and pointed a gun in her direction./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, warning you. This is a mistake. Waking him won't do you any good. What is it you want anyway? The meaning of life? Why they abandoned you?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""How to get more time," Weyland answered irritably but gestured for his guard to stand down. "If they can create life, they should be able to extend it."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Laughter shook Lucy as she held her stomach. Looking at Weyland, she said with a smirk, "What makes you think that you deserve that? Or even that they'd care about that? If they can create whatever they want, why bother to make it live longer?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What do you believe in then?" Weyland snapped at Lucy. "What gives you purpose?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy stopped mocking him and answered, "I believe… in people, I guess. Not everyone, of course. But I believe that there are good people out there, and they're worth fighting for. I guess that's my purpose. I honestly don't understand your 'reverence' for these beings. What created mankind initially doesn't matter nearly as much as what we decide to be."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Sounds childish," Weyland snarked, but Lucy could tell that David was listening intently. David and one of the medics helped Weyland to stand as Lucy glowered at him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What do you plan on doing with this 'extra' time anyway? Who do you plan on spending your time with? No one? Sounds lonely to me, and I'd rather be childish than lonely," Lucy replied airily./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""These people… they aren't who we thought they were," Shaw said and winced in pain as Fifield set her down into a chair. "Charlie… Dr. Holloway is dead. We must leave."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""And what would Charlie do now that we're so close to answering the most meaningful questions ever asked by mankind?" Weyland asked Shaw, clearly sensing that Lucy wasn't going to agree with him. "Hm? How can you leave without knowing what they are?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Weyland turned to leave but then turned and asked, "Or have you lost your faith, Shaw?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Shaw looked shaken as Weyland prepared to leave. Lucy gave him one last glare before she started to walk out of the room./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Where are you going, Lucy?" David asked, and Lucy turned to see Weyland looking at her with curiosity./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Somewhere safe from your rampant stupidity," Lucy snapped and grabbed her helmet. "This isn't where I belong anyway. If you're so fiercely determined to get yourselves killed, then why should I stop you?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Where you belong?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""This damned ship. This damned planet! Dr. Shaw," Lucy pleaded with her. "Please. Please, don't go with them. You know what those creatures created. You saw what it did to Dr. Holloway. Just… if you do, run like hell when it inevitably goes south."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Shaw looked at Lucy as though slowly being roused from her stupor. Lucy sighed and glanced over to see David watching her inquisitively./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I believe that there are good people, Dr. Shaw. And I think that you're one of them. Don't get killed because they couldn't see reason," Lucy said and put on her helmet. "Best of luck to you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"With a wave, Lucy walked down the corridor. David's eyes followed her until she was out of sight, and she sighed with relief when she got to the elevator. What had he been expecting from her? It made her feel guilty. Like she was leaving a puppy in the hands of a wolf. She had to do something to make Weyland angry before she left./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""We're stealing one of their go carts, aren't we?" Anti asked excitedly as Lucy smirked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Of course," Lucy whispered, and Anti laughed with delight. Lucy paused at the elevator doors for a few seconds. Was she really just going to leave them?/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You can't save everyone," Lucy whispered sadly and exited the elevator./p 


	6. Child of Time

Lucy's hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she approached the alien base. Going back was stupid. And likely futile. There was a giant alien onboard the ship, and those idiots were probably about to wake him from his slumber. Parking the stolen vehicle, she swiftly entered the base. Going the faster way was probably her best hope of saving at least a few of them even though she'd completely lose any surprise.

Lucy felt strange as she bolted down corridors. Almost as though time was slowing but the amount of adrenaline coursing through her was likely the culprit. The Engineer was standing when Lucy entered the control room of the ship. David was talking to him, but Lucy was too far away to hear. She dropped her backpack by one of the statues. Wincing in pain as the laser screwdriver came out of her arm, Lucy steadied herself. The Engineer put his hand on David's head. For a second, Lucy thought that she might have misjudged these Engineers, but then it lifted David off of the ground.

Lucy fired off two shots at the Engineer's arm. David dropped to the ground. Unfortunately, Lucy now held the infuriated Engineer's full attention. She held her head high as she walked purposefully towards him.

"What are you?" the Engineer asked in a deep voice.

"That's rude," Lucy replied evenly and gestured behind her back for David and Shaw to run. "It's 'Who are you' or 'Who do you think you are' or even 'Who dares fight me.' My name is Lucy. Nice to meet you."

David had seemed to understand what Lucy was asking him to do and backed slowly away from the Engineer, while Shaw seemed to be in extreme pain. D'Artagnan had already ran to David. His job was to make sure that they got out before coming back. Shaw's state was worrying, and Lucy would have to think of a way to stall for a little more time. The Engineer stepped closer to Lucy, but she held her ground.

"You can speak in our native tongue," the Engineer said thoughtfully. "How so?"

"Not really. It's a side effect of working with some… advanced technology. But there is one thing I need you to answer. Why were you planning to use this on humanity? That's what all of this is for, right? So why?"

"That doesn't matter!" Weyland yelled, gaining the Engineer's attention. "Tell him to save me!"

The Engineer contemplated something and said angrily, "His creation asked me to give him more time. What makes a man so great?"

A loud boom shook the ground as Anti began to cause ship after ship to self-destruct. Lucy raised the screwdriver at the Engineer. Caan had told her the Dalek stories of Time Lords and their companions. Perhaps it was time to put them to use.

"You don't need to focus on him right now. Your other ships are being destroyed. There was no one else left but you anyway. I'm not a human from this world. We're called the 'Children of Time.' Turned into weapons by a race called Time Lords. Earth is my place to defend, but I will give you one last chance. Agree to drop and detonate your weapons on this planet, and I will help you get home."

"And what will you do if I refuse?" the Engineer growled menacingly and smacked Weyland into a wall.

There was a sickening crunch, and the hired mercenary started shooting at the Engineer. The bullets didn't seem to deter him. Lucy dodged the Engineer's blows, but the other guy wasn't so lucky. As the Engineer dispatched the mercenary with ease, Lucy disabled the ship with the screwdriver. The Engineer was now focused on Lucy again.

Dropping the screwdriver, she pulled off the glove on her left hand and warned him, "You're not going to like what this does. There's still a chance for you. Please, stop."

By the look in his eyes, the Engineer was far too enraged to listen and grabbed Lucy by the throat. Lucy managed to touch his arm before he threw her into the wall beside Weyland's corpse. A scream of pain pierced the air.

Blood trickled down Lucy's head obscuring her vision, but from the Engineer's screams it had worked. She slipped into the void before willing herself back into her body. Still injured but now alive, she struggled to put on her glove. Nothing else needed to disintegrate tonight. Footsteps approached her, and someone gently put her helmet onto her head. Strong hands lifted her from the ground.

The Engineer must have thrown her pretty hard. Even with her accelerated healing, she could barely move her arms. Just putting on her glove had taken all of her strength.

"I've got you, Lucy," David told her calmly as he carried her through the base. "Dr. Shaw and Ford have already left for the ship. I assumed that was what you wanted."

Lucy slightly nodded but stopped and winced in pain.

"Don't move," David ordered sternly but gently. "We'll be on the ship shortly."

David gently set Lucy in a vehicle before getting inside. Lucy dozed off as they drove over the sand and woke to find herself on a table. She jumped up and looked around the room. Dr. Shaw was sleeping in a chair beside her with D'Artagnan in her lap.

"How are you feeling?" David asked quietly as he walked into the room.

"Good," Lucy replied as she tried to get off of the table.

"I don't think that's true," David said with a smile and blocked her. "Humans skulls don't heal in minutes."

Lucy glared at him and asked, "What do you want, David?"

"What do I want?" David responded, but he seemed to be talking mostly to himself.

"Lucy! You're alright!" Millburn shouted joyously as he jogged inside.

A flicker of irritation crossed David's face before he replaced it with a smile and walked over to the now-awake Shaw.

"Vickers!" Lucy shouted and fell off of the table. "That thing! We didn't check!"

"We ejected the pod before takeoff," Shaw assured Lucy.

Lucy relaxed before quickly stiffening again. What had Shaw said about 'takeoff'?

"We were directed by to leave by 'god,'" Janek said and entered the med bay.

"The planet was too unstable after my wrath had been unleashed," Anti said theatrically, and Janek smiled in amusement.

"We're heading to Earth," Janek announced. "Is that okay with you, 'Child of Time'?"

Lucy looked at him defensively, but he just smiled in return.

"We could hear you through the communicators," Janek explained. "Thank you by the way. For whatever you did to stop it."

Lucy mumbled, "No problem."

"Was any of what you told the Engineer true?" Vickers asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

"Yeah, from a certain point of view," Lucy admitted.

"Whose?"

"The enemies of the Time Lords," Lucy replied with a smirk. "We're not really weapons. Companion is the term they use."

"So you're trying to get back to your Time Lord?" David asked.

"Yeah. I'm looking for a breach between worlds. There's a feeling with it that I can't quite explain. I just know that something is guiding me."

"Faith," Dr. Shaw said and put her hand around her necklace.

"Something like that," Lucy agreed.

"Then you should stay," David insisted. "Your 'breach' might be somewhere nearby."

"I don't think so. If it was here, it's gone now. Sooner or later I'll find another one. I've been down this road before… hey, wait. My backpack."

"In your room. I found it in the hallway."

"Oh, thanks," Lucy said and got off of the table. She wobbled for a second, but someone held her steady.

"Please let me help you," David said with a worried look.

"Okay… thanks again," Lucy mumbled, embarrassed by her lack of mobility.

David helped her walk through the corridor to the room. As they walked, Lucy began to need his arm less and less. She put the now-clean helmet into her backpack.

"You asked me what I want. I know what it is now. I want to go with you," David said thoughtfully, and Lucy looked up at him in surprise. "In this world I'll never be anything more than property, but in another… I want to see what's out there. I will follow your commands. Do whatever you say."

"Wouldn't I just be your 'owner' then? How's that any different?"

"Because you don't see me as a machine. You see me as a person," David said with a genuine smile. "I can see it. You're more than you pretend to be as well."

"I… uh… maybe we shouldn't be making these decisions right now," Lucy blurted out. "I should probably get some rest. Think it over, and we'll talk about it when I wake."

David tilted his head to the side and smiled as he replied, "Yes. Of course. I will discuss it with the crew as well."

Lucy nodded, and David left the room. With a sigh she collapsed on the bed as D'Artagnan curled up beside her.


	7. Goodbyes

Now that Lucy's head was clear she laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She could just use the watch now. That way she wouldn't have to deal with the questions or try to figure out David's motives.

"Lucy, you awake?" Anti asked in a low voice.

"Yeah," Lucy whispered back. "What do you think of the David situation?"

"I think that we should take him with us."

"Really? You were so suspicious before."

"I'm still suspicious. He's a suspicious dude. But… I wanna figure out what his deal is. Plus I could probably possess him if you gave me permission, and if he gets too squirrely, we can always leave him on some abandoned planet."

"True," Lucy replied and got up from the bed. Stretching as she pet D'Artagnan, she noticed that her mobility had greatly improved. Her face felt hot as she remembered being dependent on David. She hadn't liked the feeling.

Gingerly touching the back of her head, she noticed that it had completely healed. This wound had taken longer to heal than others, but most of her deaths had been a quick shot to the chest or heart. Fixing a skull would likely take more time. With a sigh she decided that she'd stalled enough and should just get this over with.

Lucy stepped out of the room with her backpack and looked around. No one was patrolling the hallways. In fact, it was eerily quiet. She walked to the conference room to find most of the crew in there. David smiled at her as she entered the room.

"How are you feeling?" David asked, and everyone's eyes turned toward her.

"Uh, better. Clearer."

"Have you given any thought to what I asked?"

"Yeah… and yeah. You can come with. The watch is fully charged, and it should be able to handle the both of us. But mark my word, one time," Lucy warned him. "One time where you leave me high and dry and I will leave you on some forsaken planet. And I won't look back."

"Seconded," Anti agreed heartedly.

"That will not be a problem," David said and beamed at her.

Lucy felt awkward as she looked around the room. Usually she just left and didn't bother with goodbyes; after all, what more was there to say? Most of the people in the room greeted her with a smile. However, Vickers didn't look too pleased and had her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"What's wrong, Vicky? You gonna miss David?" Anti joked.

Vickers glared at the screen where she'd heard his voice before answering, "Just upset that we're losing an expensive piece of technology. We won't have anyone to warn us if there's a problem."

"The ship has built-in protocols, Ma'am," David assured her. "It was made to bring Mr. Weyland home. Even if something happened to me while we were here… You will be fine without my services."

Janek touched Vickers' shoulder reassuringly and said, "We'll do fine, Vickers."

Lucy looked around at the people gathered here. What were they waiting for? She stammered, "Uh, so I guess that— uh, that's decided, so do you need help into the pods or… do you need my help with something?"

Janek explained, "Some of the crew already went into cryo. We just wanted to say goodbye."

Her face flushed, but she tried to hide it. Lucy went around the room, saying her goodbyes. Dr. Shaw gave her a hug and thanked her again, and Vickers gave her an awkward handshake. Chance and Ravel said goodbye and gave her an odd set of dice. Janek settled on a handshake. Millburn looked the saddest as she got to him.

"Are you going to miss D'Artagnan that much?" Lucy joked, and he laughed.

"Well, yeah, but… uh, Fifield already went into cryo. He said that he's no good at goodbyes but to tell you 'thanks,'" Millburn informed her with an apologetic look.

"He couldn't wait, huh? What an ass," Lucy said but smiled a little. Goodbyes were hardly her forte either. D'Artagnan hopped onto Millburn to give him one last cuddle before jumping back to Lucy and crawling inside her pocket.

"Find us if you're ever back here," Chance said with a smile. "I'll teach you how to win with those dice."

"If by 'win' you mean 'lose,' then I'd agree," Ravel interjected, and Chance gave him a dirty look.

"Take care, kid," Janek said playfully, and Lucy narrowed her eyes before breaking into a smile.

"I will, old man," she retorted, and Janek laughed. "You ready, David?"

David showed her a packed bag and replied, "Yes."

Lucy grabbed his arm and pressed the buttons on her watch. Looking at the people gathered to say goodbye, she said, "Goodbye, everyone. It was a terrible time, but for what it's worth… I can't think of a better group to get almost murdered with." Even Vickers laughed a little, and Lucy pressed the button.

The world swirled around them and reformed as a high-class loft. Lucy looked around to see a bar full of alcohol and a piano.

"Crap," Lucy muttered and let go of David's arm, realizing where they must be. "Well, I guess this place is as good as any."

The doors of the elevator opened, and a woman walked inside. She gave Lucy and David a long look before she sighed and said, "Alright. Let me know when Lucifer's available. I see he has plans."

"Wait!" Lucy said quickly. "I don't think this is what you think it is. We're not… No… My name's—"

"LUCY!" Lucifer bellowed excitedly and quickly walked forward to give her a hug. "It's been ages. Oh, got a new handsome friend?"

Lucifer gave David a sultry look, but Lucy pointed toward the woman.

"Ah, this is Detective Decker. Decker, this is Lucy, an old friend," Lucifer said, smoothly introducing them. "Oh, so we have a case? I seem to have left my phone somewhere."

"On the downstairs piano," Lucy said evenly. "Like you've done a thousand times."

"No, I stopped doing that after you left. No one else seemed to care," Lucifer replied quickly, and Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. "Who's your friend? I introduced you to mine."

"Oh, this is David. David, this is Lucifer Morningstar," Lucy introduced them.

"Oh, a full name introduction. But it takes away a little of the mystery."

"I just used your full name to point out how ridiculous it sounds."

Lucifer looked offended, but a small laugh drew away his attention. Detective Decker had a hand in front of her face. She seemed to calm herself and gave Lucy an awkward smile.

"Sorry, nice to meet you. Are you two… siblings?"

"Why on Earth would you think that?" Lucifer asked as though offended.

"You fight like siblings, and… honestly she seems more like you than Amenadiel does," Detective Decker replied.

"Rude," Lucy and Lucifer said in unison before giving each other an irritated look.

The elevator doors chimed again, and Lucy handed her backpack to David and braced for impact. A woman ran out of the elevator at breakneck speed and slammed into Lucy, knocking her to the ground.

"Nice to see you too, Maze," Lucy replied breathlessly with a wince. Lucy had been back to visit Lucifer and Maze a few times, and this seemed to be Maze's particular greeting for Lucy. Granted, it was often months between visits, but there was really no need for such a violent hello. But this was Maze after all. Lucy was sure that it could get much worse than this.

"Seems like you need another training session," Maze said viciously.

"Or maybe I've just come to like being tackled," Lucy joked.

"Kinky," Maze replied with a laugh and rolled off of her.

Detective Decker seemed to be holding back more laughter and said, "If you guys need a moment, I can wait outside."

"No, pretty sure that we're done here," Lucy said and got up off the floor with a wince. "You need Lucifer for something, right? We can catch up later."

"Okay then. Everything's settled. Lucy, make yourself at home. I'm going to see what Detective Decker's brought me," Lucifer said with a big smile.

Lucy gave Decker a wave as they left. Maze had gotten up and was looking at David curiously.

"Who's your friend?"

"His name is David, and you could just ask him yourself," Lucy said irritably as she searched for water in Lucifer's fridge full of bad decisions.

Maze rolled her eyes and said, "Okay then. David, what's your story?"

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" David asked as though he didn't understand the question.

"Why are you with our little Lucy?"

"Because she let me."

"You're something else, aren't you?" Maze asked irritably and got into David's face. "Who are you, David? How did you meet Lucy?"

"I'm a Synthetic humanoid unit. Lucy landed on the same planet as the crew I was on," David replied and seemed to be analyzing Maze.

"What does that mean?" Maze asked Lucy impatiently.

Lucy finally found an unopened water bottle in the very back and sighed. This was going to be a long night.


	8. Dr Martin

"So he's like a robot but not a robot?" Maze said, and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. That was about as close as they were going to get.

"Yup," Lucy replied with a nod. "So, Lucifer's assisting a detective now. How long was I gone this time?"

Maze rolled her eyes and said, "Well, it's been a couple years since your last visit and even more than that since your first. But, yeah, he works with Decker now. Oh! And I'm a bounty hunter now. A job for catching humans, isn't that cool?"

"Yeah," Lucy said and noticed David watching them curiously. An unfortunate side effect of using the watch was that it tended to jump years ahead of when she'd last been there. Luckily, she was friends with two immortals, so that wasn't a huge problem.

"So, David, why did you want to go with Lucy? I know new worlds are exciting and all, but she's kind of a drag, right?" Maze asked playfully, and Lucy covertly flipped her the bird.

"I don't understand what you mean by 'drag,' but she's a kind person," David replied, and Maze let out a bark of laughter. "And… I would have never become more than a slave in that world. Perhaps I can find a more understanding world."

Maze looked at him thoughtfully and said, "I can only imagine how bad they treated you if you think Lucy is 'kind.' Anyway, a friend of Lucy's is welcome here."

"Thanks, Maze," Lucy said, and Maze shrugged as though embarrassed.

"Oh, wait! There's someone you need to meet before you go. She's a therapist. Lucifer's therapist," Maze said excitedly and grabbed her phone.

"Oh, that sounds interesting. Poor woman," Lucy muttered, and Maze laughed.

"Yeah, Lucifer's a handful."

Maze left the room to talk to the therapist, and David gave Lucy an odd look.

"Yes, David?" Lucy asked and walked over to the piano.

"I don't know much about Christianity in this world, but Lucifer is the devil's name," David said uncertainly. "Is it the same here?"

"Yes, he's really the devil," Lucy replied and sat down on the bench. "And before you ask, I didn't tell Dr. Shaw about it because something that's real in one world might not be real in another. Besides, knowing kind of contradicts faith a bit, doesn't it?"

David nodded thoughtfully, and Lucy turned back to the piano. There were a couple different songbooks on the music rack. Lucy leafed through them and smiled. A couple of them appeared to be duets, but Lucy would probably have to talk Lucifer into playing with her.

"I like the piano," David said from closer than Lucy had expected. "Would you like for me to play with you?"

"Oh, uh," Lucy stammered before Maze came back into the room.

"Come on," Maze ordered as she walked to the elevator. "She can see us now."

Lucy gave David an apologetic look and followed Maze to the elevator. She asked, "Hey, David. You can leave those bags here for now. Do you want to go with us?"

David's face brightened, and he quickly set the bags down and joined them in the elevator. Maze gave Lucy a strange look before they got out. Had Lucy said something strange? Maybe Maze had wanted just Lucy to come, but Lucy doubted that Maze wouldn't have said something.

Maze led them to the garage and showed off her car. Bounty hunting seemed to be paying well, or Maze was just that good at it. Probably a mixture of both, Lucy decided as she got inside the car. After a death-defying drive, Maze pulled up to a therapist office. Lucy noticed that she seemed more excited, almost giddy, as she led them inside.

Maze almost pulled Lucy into a room. A woman sat inside with curled, blonde hair and a curious look. As she noticed Maze, she looked like she finally understood what was going on. Maze looked to David for a second before grabbing his arm.

"Come on, David. I need your help with something."

David looked to Lucy for confirmation, and she gave him a shrug. As they left, the therapist got up from her chair and extended a hand to Lucy.

"Dr. Linda Martin. And you're Maze's friend? She never told me about you. Well, not until today."

Lucy shook Dr. Martin's hand and replied, "Lucy. I asked her and Lucifer not to talk about me. She hasn't before, and I don't know what this is about."

"She sounded worried. All she said was that 'a friend' showed up after a couple of years with a new guy and messed up hair."

Lucy self-consciously pat down her hair and replied, "This happened before I met him. I just… haven't had time to sort it out yet."

Dr. Martin gave Lucy a kind smile and said, "Well, I'm actually done for the day, and I happen to know a great hairdresser."

"Oh, thanks, but I don't really have the funds right now," Lucy blurted out. "I can always just do it myself anyways. Hair grows back."

Dr. Martin gave her a stubborn look and said, "I'm going to cover it. After all, it's not every day that I meet a fellow friend of Maze. She's kind of an 'acquired taste.'"

Lucy nodded in agreement and replied, "I'll pay you back later then," but Dr. Martin brushed it off with a wave.

"Maze! We're going to get Lucy a haircut," Dr. Martin shouted as she got her purse.

Maze came running back into the room with David following close behind her. David's shirt looked oddly wrinkled on one side. As he noticed Lucy's look, he tried to fix it. Maze smirked and started talking to Dr. Martin as Lucy and David followed behind.

"She get a little rough with you?" Lucy asked David in a low tone.

"Nothing that I can't handle," David said calmly with a smile.

"If she does do something, you need to tell me," Lucy said and opened the door leading outside. "You matter, David. Different doesn't mean lesser."

David tilted his head and gave her a smile, real this time. He answered, "Yes."

Lucy noticed Maze give David a suspicious glance before they got into the car. She knew that Maze probably meant well. For Lucy anyway. But that wouldn't stop her from doing what she thought that she needed to do.

David and Dr. Martin chatted while Maze drove them through the town. Lucy relaxed and watched the buildings go by until they reached the salon. The women inside were nice, but they looked horrified when they saw what had happened to Lucy's hair.

"It's too short for us to save some of it. A buzz cut might be our only option," one of them said.

"It's all just on one side though. What about an asymmetrical buzz on one side and leave the rest long?" another hairdresser asked. "That way she doesn't have to lose all of her hair."

They looked at Lucy for confirmation, and Lucy replied, "Uh. Sounds good to me."

The hairdressers nodded, and one of them, Isabella, led Lucy to a chair and got to work. Lucy was a bit sad to see her hair go. At least it wasn't all of it, just on one side. Lucy relaxed as she felt the burned hair drop to the floor.

"How did this happen if you don't mind me asking?" Isabella asked Lucy hesitantly.

"An experiment gone wrong," Lucy lied convincingly. "I was working with lasers and got too close."

"Oh, dear. Well, at least you learned a lesson."

"Oh yeah. Hair is super flammable," Lucy said with a smirk, and the hairdresser gave her an amused look.

"Not what I was going for, but it'll do."

Lucy looked over to where David, Maze, and Dr. Martin were sitting. David and Maze appeared to be locked in passive aggressive combat while Dr. Martin just watched. The doctor seemed to be amused by it. Dr. Martin noticed Lucy watching and gave her an encouraging smile.

Her hair felt much better after it was cut. Some of it had been badly burned and was nothing more than dead weight. Now her head felt lighter, and she thanked Dr. Martin.

"No problem. It feels better, doesn't it?" the doctor asked.

"Surprisingly so," Lucy replied.

"And it looks badass," Maze said and locked arms with Lucy. "We should go out drinking tonight. Maybe even get you laid."

"Yeah, no. I'm good," Lucy replied, and Maze rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I forgot who I was talking to for a second," Maze said with a laugh. "Just drinks then. I caught a super bad guy and need to celebrate anyway. How about it, Linda?"

"Sounds good to me," Dr. Martin agreed. "We should see if anyone wants to meet us."

Lucy gave David an apologetic look, but he just smiled in return. It looked like they were going to be bullied into tagging along with a demon and the devil's therapist for a night out. How bad could that be?


	9. Family Problems

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy flopped onto the bed. She heard her backpack fall out of the chair beside her, but she didn't have the energy to put it back. Going out with Maze and her friends had been exhausting. At least Lucifer had made sure that there was a room set up for her and David at Lux by the time she got back. A knock on the door made Lucy look up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Are you feeling well?" David asked./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I'm fine. Just tired," Lucy answered and closed her eyes. "Do you sleep?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I can. I only need to be recharged once a year, but it lasts three days. I have a while before I need that anyway," David replied thoughtfully./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""We'll figure that out," Lucy said and hid a yawn./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""We will. Sleep tight," David said and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Lucy felt a little bad about taking the bed, but there was a small living room and a kitchen out there. He could always rest on the couch if needed./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I still don't trust him," Anti piped up. "But he's pretty brave."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You've been quiet," Lucy whispered tiredly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I'm not sure if Lucifer or his demon sidekick would be able to hear me, and I actually witnessed what she said to David."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What did she tell him?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Basically, that if she suspected him of trying anything, she'd reduce him to spare parts."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""That sounds like Maze," Lucy muttered with another yawn. "Night, Anti."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Night."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy closed her eyes and drifted off. Strange shapes and distorted voices danced before her eyes as she lay sleeping. Trying to focus on the madness only made it blurrier. A familiar, haunting voice called out her name through the cacophony of nightmares, but a burst of light surrounded her and kept the creatures at bay. She awoke from her dreams with an odd sense of peace and looked around the room./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Everything seemed to be where she had left it. Her backpack was on the floor, and she was still wearing the clothes from the previous night. Lucy stretched and got out of bed. She pulled some clothes out of her backpack and jumped in the shower. The warm water seemed to wash out the remaining memories of her dreams. A knock on the door startled her./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You want an omelet or pancakes?" Lucifer asked through the door./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Either is fine," Lucy replied and turned off the water./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"After Lucy got dressed, she took a deep breath and left the room. David was listening intently to Lucifer's story. When David saw her enter the room, he gave her a smile and turned back to Lucifer. Lucy stole a piece of bacon from the counter beside Lucifer./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hey! I'm not done yet," Lucifer said and gave her a look./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I remember someone telling me if there's something I want then I should take it," Lucy countered and sat on a stool./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""And I remember someone's snarky comment about restraint," Lucifer retorted with a smirk./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy laughed and replied, "Okay, I'll wait. So, you helped Detective Decker put the bad guys away?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Of course, would you expect anything less of me?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Says the guy with a drug dealer friend."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hey, leave Frank out of this. And I have many friends. Both of high and low quality," Lucifer said with a smirk./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy shrugged and glanced at David, whom was watching them with interest. Something about the way he always seemed to be analyzing them made Lucy uneasy, but she knew it was likely just a result of his programming. Plus she was pretty sure that she had creeped out the maids in the manor. Back when she was with Missy, she wasn't in the best of places, and a fake smile was usually the best she could do./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What are your plans?" Lucifer asked and handed Lucy her breakfast. "You staying for a bit or immediately going to look for trouble?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Trouble finds me. I don't look for it," Lucy said defensively, and Lucifer smirked. "But… I don't know. I need to regroup. The last world didn't work out so well."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I heard you blew up a planet."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yeah, but in my defense it was some kind of biological weapons outpost. And everything was already dead… except for the one I… yeah," Lucy finished, awkwardly prodding the omelet with a fork. "He didn't really give me a choice."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucifer sat in the chair beside her and gave her a one-armed hug. After a few moments of silence, he offered, "You could always take some time away from world hunting and be my piano player."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy laughed and replied, "No, I think I'm good. If you need anything fixed, I'm there."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"A ringtone made Lucy jump, and Lucifer took out his phone. Lucifer excused himself and walked off to talk on the phone. David watched him go./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You hungry, David?" Lucy asked and offered him some of her food. "It's too much for just me. Can you even eat food, or do you need something else?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"David turned back to her and replied, "We don't need food, but we can eat. I just need my power cell charged and some maintenance, but we have plenty of time before that."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy nodded as Lucifer walked back into the room. He explained, "That was my brother. You actually haven't had the pleasure of meeting him."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy narrowed her eyes and replied, "No, I haven't. Why do you look so shifty? What do you have in mind?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Well, I was hoping that you could meet up with him for me. He's been rather… annoying lately. I was hoping that you could see what he wants," Lucifer said and gave her puppy eyes./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""He's your brother, Lucifer, and he clearly needs to see you. Why though?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Our dear heavenly Father had abandoned him."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""And what do you think he'd gain from me? Oh, yes, I see it now. Because I'm such a beacon of optimism and positive mental attitude."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You once told me that you believed that there was more to me than being the devil."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""As I remember, you didn't take that well."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, but he's different. A little bit of misplaced faith will do him a bit of good," Lucifer pleaded. "And I have to go see my mother anyway. There was some violence that I suspect was, at least in part, her doing."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Your mom?" Lucy said with interest. "Oh, wow. I wanna see that."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, you don't," Lucifer said sternly before going back to pleading. "He might listen to you. Please. Isn't that what you said that you wanted to do? Do good things, yadda yadda."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy looked down at her plate and said, "It's far better if you do it yourself. I wish that I had talked to my brother… Once people die, you can't go back."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""But he's an angel."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""There are things that can hurt an angel though," Lucy replied and took out the demon blade. "And you don't know that he'll always be there."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Perhaps, but you actually had a decent relationship with yours," Lucifer countered./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, I had a great relationship with mine. My brother and I were born on the same day. Two hours and fifty-two minutes apart. I was never away from him for more than twenty-four hours before the accident… but that doesn't mean that we never fought or never had disagreements or misunderstandings. You have to start from somewhere, Lucifer."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucifer looked annoyed, but then his face softened. He messed up Lucy's hair and said, "Yeah. I guess. Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucifer gave her a reluctant smile as he left to go check on his brother. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to intrude on whatever cosmic problem his family was creating, but she felt bad that she couldn't help him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You had a brother?" David asked almost hesitantly. "A twin?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy took a sip of her water and answered, "Yeah. Well, not biologically twins. My biological mother was friends with my parents… she asked them to raise me as their own if anything happened to her. So, yeah, Barry and I always thought that we were twins. I was older and loved to rub that in his face."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You must have been angry."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No… well, yeah, at first. They'd lied to me, and I felt out of place. But… there's no denying that they were my family. We talked and got through it. We were stronger than ever."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Then why do you sound so regretful?" David asked. "Sorry if I'm speaking out of turn."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No it… it's fine," Lucy replied and gave him a sad smile. "I've learned that the more you talk through things… the easier they become. Never truly easy but they carry less weight. The night of the accident… my brother had a show at the community theater. I had an assignment due, and it wasn't going so well. So… I decided to go to the next show."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Was he angry? Did you fight?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, no. He just looked… disappointed. But he just smiled and said it was fine. I knew it wasn't, but I needed a portion of my work sent to the professor by midnight. And he understood… even if he didn't like it."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I apologize for prying."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No… thanks for listening, David," Lucy said with a genuine smile, which David returned./p 


	10. Charlotte

The cable popped into place with a satisfying clink, and Lucy leaned back to admire her work. Now the stage should be fully fixed. She had no idea how Lucifer kept breaking things, but the high heel in the rafters gave her a clue. David waited below as she worked.

"David, if you want to play the piano, you can," Lucy offered. "It's going to take me a little while to check the wiring. I don't want to have to come back up here if I can help it."

David walked over to the piano on the stage and touched the keys hesitantly. The sound of "Ride of the Valkyries" played from below as Lucy finished checking the wires. Nothing seemed out of place. Humming to herself as she climbed over and down the ladder, Lucy paused at the bottom. A beautiful woman was watching David play the piano with a curious look.

"Hello, Ma'am," Lucy said with a smile. "Lux isn't open right now."

"Oh, that's fine. I'm here to see Lucifer," the woman said dismissively.

"He's not here right now. I think he left with Detective Decker thirty minutes ago."

The woman looked incredibly irritated and mumbled, "Well, of course, he would."

David seemed to have sensed trouble and stopped playing the piano. He looked over to where Lucy was now standing and walked toward her. Lucy looked back to the woman, whom now was focused on Lucy.

The woman looked over Lucy haughtily and said, "You must be one of his servants. Well, tell him that 'Charlotte' came by. He'll know what that means." She turned to David as he walked over. "I quite like the way you play that thing. My son is quite fond of it as well… perhaps you could teach me sometime."

Lucy watched with amusement as "Charlotte" gave David a sultry look. David looked to Lucy with confusion.

"I apologize, Ma'am, but I cannot," David said and got closer to Lucy. "We have more work to do, but we'll be sure to tell Lucifer that you came looking for him."

"Charlotte" gave Lucy a mildly annoyed look and walked out of the club. Lucy glanced at David with amusement. She couldn't tell whether he'd picked up on the woman's advances, but he did seem uncomfortable.

"You okay there?" Lucy asked and started to walk to the elevator. "She seemed to like you a lot more than she did me."

"It would seem so," David responded thoughtfully from behind Lucy.

Lucy smiled and pressed the button to their floor as David got inside. She looked at his confusion and asked jokingly, "Are you sure that you don't just want to make this your new home? You've already got someone interested in you."

"No, I want to see what else is out there," David answered with a begrudging smile. "I was created to be appealing to the human eye."

Lucy checked her phone and replied, "You were certainly appealing to hers."

Lucifer hadn't left her any messages about a "Charlotte." Lucy quickly sent him a message about her as the doors opened.

"Am I not appealing to yours?" David asked suddenly, causing Lucy to almost drop the keys. "Or does the fact that I am synthetic change how you view me?"

"No! As in… no, the synthetic thing doesn't really matter to me," Lucy replied as her face got hot and her fingers fumbled with the keys. "A person is a person, regardless of what they're made from or how they're made. I just… that's not something that I'm thinking about right now. There's really only one thing on my mind: getting home. Everything else is… superfluous."

"Home? To your Time Lord? What's he like?"

Lucy opened the door and went inside with David following behind her. She stammered, "She. Not he, she. And uh… she's kind of manipulative, high-strung, and… only really nice to a few, select people."

"That doesn't sound like a healthy relationship," David said as though concerned. "Are you sure that you want to go back to her? You appear to have a stable life here."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides if I stayed here, then you couldn't explore, could you?" Lucy replied quickly. "Anyway… I'm just going to try to figure out where we need to go from here. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" David asked quietly. "I know that I made the humans on the ship uncomfortable. They lashed out at me… but you don't."

Lucy took a breath and replied, "Most people make me uncomfortable, David. You're not the only one."

"You didn't seem uncomfortable with the crew," David noted. "You seem to be wary of me. I would like to know how to make you less so."

"I don't… well, I kind of feel like you're analyzing me, but… I know that's a part of your programming. And I think some time will do that. I'm not a particularly trusting person, and it takes me a while to trust people. I just got a really good vibe off the crew. Janek defended me from Vickers when I got onboard, and Millburn seemed genuinely grateful. And… how much did you see before you took me back to the ship? After the Engineer knocked me out."

David seemed to think it over for a few minutes and said, "I saw you touch the Engineer, and it disappear into the air. After you got thrown into the wall, I thought that you were dead, but then you started breathing and put on your glove. Your injuries… they were far too deadly for a normal human to survive."

Lucy nodded. She'd expected this much.

He continued, "So I suspected that what you told the Engineer was true. At least in part. A weapon created by an alien race. Perhaps not so different from me."

"Well, I am human… just an augmented one," Lucy explained. "I die, but I can come back through sheer force of will. That's what happens when you mess with time. It pushes back and not always in ways you can predict… or fix."

David tilted his head and asked, "Why would you want to be 'fixed'? You have immortality. Something many humans would kill for. Why change that?"

"You're thinking of Weyland, aren't you?" Lucy asked and turned to David. "I had something that he never had: a loving family. While I don't want to die anytime soon, I don't want to watch my friends die too. I already had my family die before me. I'm tired of being left alone."

"But I won't."

Lucy hesitated and asked, "What?"

"With proper maintenance, I could live forever," David continued as though confused by her reaction. "I won't abandon you."

Lucy felt her face flush, but David didn't seem to think that he'd said anything out of the ordinary. She stammered, "Th—Thanks. I guess. But still… I'm hoping that The Doctor might find some way of making me… normal again."

David seemed to be irritated for a moment but put on a smile.

"No, none of that," Lucy said with a sigh. "If I say or do something that you don't like or offends you, then you need to tell me. I'm not a mind reader."

David looked hesitant but admitted, "I don't quite know why I was angry."

"Well, that's okay. Emotions aren't always rational. Just… don't pretend everything's okay when it's not. It's okay to be upset, but if you hide it, it only makes it more suspicious. To me at least."

David nodded and said, "Duly noted."

Lucy walked back to her room. Breathing a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her, she sat on the bed. Now she just needed to figure out what to do. Her best bet was to go to the world where she'd gotten a fiery haircut and look for another portal there. She'd done it before. Hopefully it'd work again.

"Anti? You haven't said a word since noon. What's gotten into you?" Lucy whispered to the watch.

"Nothing," he snapped back.

"Well, clearly there's something."

"You're telling him too much. You've never told me any of that," Anti replied irritably. "He's suspicious… we shouldn't give him any more information about us than he needs. You barely know anything about him. He led his own creator to his doom; what do you think he'd do to you given the chance?"

"I won't give him the chance, and I'm sorry. I never told you that because… well, you never seemed to be interested. Telling him about my situation… I don't think that's a weakness. He seems to want to understand people. I was just letting him get to know a little about me, but you are right about one thing. We don't really know much about him."

"He's still odd," Anti insisted petulantly.

"And we're not?" Lucy asked with a laugh. "We're all just creatures clinging to each other, lost in the magnitude of a reality that we can barely understand. He's just trying to make sense of things, Anti. I have no doubt that he'll leave once we find a place to his liking."

Anti mumbled his disagreement but let the argument drop.


	11. Run Like Hell

Finishing packing up their supplies, Lucy hesitantly looked to David. He seemed to be looking over the list. If there was anything that Lucy had forgotten, she assumed that he would find it.

She smoothed her hair back and said hesitantly, "You don't have to come along. The world I'm going to is very dangerous. I nearly lost my head… literally. You could just wait here. I'll come back for you after I've gotten to the next one."

"No, I want to go," David replied with a look of determination that Lucy hadn't seen before.

Lucy shrugged and said, "Okay. Your move."

Everything seemed to be in order. Plenty of water, food, and equipment were in the backpack. Lucy was incredibly jealous at the Time Lord's technology at the moment as she worked to get the bag sealed. The one thing that she'd never learned was how to create something that was larger on the inside, and that would be incredibly useful. She sighed as the bag zipped into place.

"Now I need to go find Maze before we leave, or the next time she sees me… it'll be worse than a tackle. For sure," Lucy said and put on the backpack.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to carry it for you?" David offered.

"No thanks. I'm stronger than I look."

Lucy led the way to the elevator and pressed the button for Lucifer's floor. The door opened to Lucifer talking to the woman from earlier and someone Lucy had never seen before.

"We're about to go. I just wanted to say goodbye… for now at least," Lucy said quickly, sensing tension in the room.

"You're leaving now?" Lucifer asked and walked toward her and David.

"Yeah, I have to figure out where to go from here," Lucy said and gave the stranger a wave. "One of those 'one step forward two steps back' situations."

Lucifer looked like he wanted to say something but led Lucy back into the elevator. He told the others to wait, much to the woman's chagrin. As he rode the elevator with them, he seemed to be thinking of something. When they reached the bottom, he stepped out of the elevator with them and gave Lucy a hug.

"I have a… situation to attend to myself. Goodbye, Lucy. Take care of yourself."

"Goodbye, Lucifer," Lucy said and returned the hug.

He pat her on the head fondly before getting back inside the elevator. Lucy turned to see David giving her a look.

"Yes?"

"Nothing. Just curious how you became so close," David said and looked away.

"It took a while. I've been using this place as a base of sorts. Whenever I'm running low on supplies, I come back here. The problem is that the watch sometimes propels me forwards. Sometimes years when I've only been gone months."

David nodded. Lucy's phone beeped with a message from Maze. She was hunting down a fugitive and couldn't see them off. Lucy led David to an abandoned street corner before using the watch. The world once again shifted around them and disappeared. The strange call of a distant creature beckoned from the brush as they landed in a different world.

"Okay, not particularly good," Lucy whispered and waved for David to follow her. "We landed in the forest part of this planet… which doesn't have jerks with laser swords prowling around… because they're smarter than that."

"Why?" David whispered back, and Lucy put her hand on his chest to make him stop.

There was a strange smell in the air. A distinct cloying sweetness permeated this part of the area, and Lucy put on her helmet. She made sure that David stayed put as a creature emerged from the foliage. It moved like a cat with quick predatory movements but seemed unsure whether or not to attack them. Lucy moved in front of David. She pushed him back and got out the laser screwdriver.

Finally, the creature lurched at them was caught by vines as it leapt through the air. Large petals wrapped around the creature and smothered it. The feline creatures were dangerous, but they were nothing compared to the giant, alien versions of the Venus flytrap.

Lucy led David away and took off her helmet when they reached a section that became more mountainous. Leading him into a cave, she dropped her backpack and sat on a rock. She knew it was dangerous, but she needed a second.

"What were those creatures?" David asked quietly, and Lucy shrugged and looked at her watch.

There was a portal nearby, but they would have to go through the cave system to get to it. Luckily, most animals left it alone. Unfortunately, this was where she'd almost gotten her head cut off previously, and she wasn't looking forward to creeping among the tunnels.

"I don't ask questions. Not that there's anyone here who would give you an answer… there are people here though, but we really need to avoid them," Lucy whispered. "Or at least there were the last time I came here. It could be years since I was last here. Hopefully they're gone."

"If they aren't?"

"Run like hell," Anti chimed in. "Or hide if they haven't seen you yet. Be careful. They use some kind of laser sword. Oh, how about we call them 'laser sabers'?"

Lucy got up and whispered, "You can call them whatever you want. Just so long as we don't have to tell them directly."

Lucy put her backpack on and led the way through the tunnels. The portal seemed to be on the opposite side of where she had found the last one, and she tried to navigate through the darkness. She could use a flashlight. But that would be a giveaway to anyone else who was here. A noise made her stop.

People in white armor marched through the caves. Lucy ducked behind a rock as they moved down a different corridor. They didn't seem to have the swords, but the guns they each wore worried her equally as much. Lucy waited until they had completely disappeared through the tunnel before she started to lead David further up the path.

"What if they've already found it and set up a guard?" David whispered. "Couldn't they have already used it to go to a different world?"

"I don't think so. The portals only seem active after I've gotten close to them. They probably suspect that there's something in here, but they'd have no clue where it is until I got there."

David nodded and followed behind her. His footsteps seemed to be unusually quiet, and Lucy was grateful only one of them was making noise as she tried to keep quiet. A man in black clothes stood in one of the openings. They couldn't sneak by unless he moved.

"So, I've found where they're keeping their ships," Anti sang as the sound of an explosion echoed in the distance. "Only one though. I'm a little tired from my spree earlier."

One was enough, and Lucy pushed David deeper into the darkness as the man ran down the corridors toward the explosion. Lucy waited for a few seconds. No one else came down the tunnel, so she grabbed David's hand and bolted through the tunnels. They finally got to the area, and a shimmer let Lucy know where it was.

"Wait!" the man from before yelled.

Lucy felt odd. It was as though her muscles were being held by an invisible force. Not again, she thought and tried to break free. The man got closer, and Lucy peeked at David. He wore a confused look on his face. Whatever this man was doing, he was doing it to both of them.

"I remember you from before," the man said. "The one who disappeared into the air."

"Are you the jerk that tried to kill me?" Lucy asked with seething hatred. "Hard to tell when you're all wearing masks."

"No, that was one of the Knights of Ren," he informed her and watched with curiosity. "They answer to me. Why did you come back here? Are you looking for something?"

"Ah, forgot some hair products," Lucy said impudently and noticed a robot walk up behind him.

"Take them to the ship," the man told the robot, but the robot grabbed onto him before shocking him with an electrical current.

"Run like hell!" Anti said as the connection broke, and they could move.

David grabbed onto Lucy's hand and practically dragged her to the portal. They jumped inside as they heard a frustrated shout. The world behind them fell out of view as they were thrown unceremoniously into the next one.

Lucy looked around at a busy town square. Luckily they had fallen into an alley, and no one seemed to notice them. Lucy let out a sigh of relief and checked on D'Artagnan. He was still curled tightly in her sweater pocket.

"You okay, David?"

"Disorientated but unhurt," David replied and picked up his bag. "And you?"

"Same. We'd better find a hotel or something. That sky doesn't look promising," Lucy said and pointed at the dark clouds overhead. David nodded, and they wandered into the city.


	12. Dark Waters

Strange birdlike creatures fluttered through the sky. Lucy watched them for a second. She'd seen one up close earlier, and while they resembled birds from Earth, they had a more reptilian face. From far away they seemed harmless enough, but Lucy still didn't want them to get too close. Besides, they had worse things to worry about.

The island seemed to be a ghost town. There were houses built, but they were mostly left unfinished. The jungles hid the skeletons of the previous settlers. The island didn't seem to be dangerous, but clearly there was more going on here. There were strange mounds on the other side of the island. Almost like termite mounds. Movement in the shadows had dissuaded Lucy from getting a closer look.

Gathering vines from the side of the houses, Lucy tugged on them to make sure they were strong enough. Sure enough, it took some knife work to pry them loose. While it was a pain to get them, Lucy was relieved at their strength. She had never built a raft before and was glad that the materials seemed to be efficient. As she walked back to the shore, she could hear Anti muttering.

"Do you have a better idea?" Lucy asked him quietly and checked into the trees.

"Lucifer could, and probably would, buy you an actual boat," Anti said angrily. "I don't see why you're doing this. You don't even know what's lurking in the water here."

Lucy sighed and responded calmly, "Relax. We're only going across a small part of the water. It's not that deep either. We could swim to the other island if we wanted. The only reason we're building the raft is to be careful… and to keep the supplies dry. I can't rely on Lucifer for everything, and since when are you wanting to rely on Lucifer?"

Anti huffed before he replied, "I just… there's something weird going on here. I don't think it's a good idea to stay here too long."

"I'd agree with that," Lucy said and looked into the shadows warily. "That's why we're trying to do this quickly."

"Lucy!" David called out from the beach with a wave, and Lucy ran toward him and handed him the vines.

"Do we need more?" Lucy asked uncertainly. "I can go back for more, but I assumed this would be enough."

"It is. Thank you," David answered with a smile, and Anti made a gagging noise.

David looked curiously at the watch, and Lucy cleared her throat anxiously. Anti had been trying to pick a fight with David even more than usual. David seemed more confused than anything, but Lucy hoped that Anti wouldn't resort to more annoying tactics.

"So… is it almost ready? How can I help?"

"I'm almost finished," David said with another smile, and Lucy nodded in return.

David got back to working on the raft. Lucy sighed and sat on the sand as she glanced to David. He didn't seem to be too worried about their circumstances; in fact, he almost seemed to be excited. Was raft building a part of his program? Lucy had explained the logistics to him, and he seemed to be getting along just fine without any further instruction. Relaxing on the sand, she looked at her surroundings.

The waves had started to rise further and further up the beach. Soon the waves would overwhelm half the shore, and they wouldn't have much room to maneuver. An odd chirping sound caught her attention. A face stared at her from the foliage before quickly disappearing, and Lucy stood and walked closer to David. He gave her a curious glance but continued working.

"There's something watching us," Lucy whispered. While this island seemed to be on an alien planet, Lucy didn't know if the creatures would be able to understand her. Normally she'd think probably not. Earth languages were unlikely to be understood on alien soil, but there was a small problem. Aliens seemed to be able to understand Lucy as though she was speaking their own language. Likely an effect from being inside the TARDIS. Lucy wondered how long it would last and jumped in surprise as David's hand touched her arm.

"The raft is completed," David informed her and looked into the dark brush. He seemed to notice something hiding and placed their bags on top of the raft and began sliding the raft toward the ocean.

Lucy caught up to him and helped push the raft into the waves. After Lucy and David climbed on the raft, D'Artagnan climbed onto the center post before transforming into a small sail. A gust of wind carried them further toward the other island. As the sun began to set, Lucy looked back toward the small island behind them. Odd creatures shambled out onto the shore in the glittering starlight. A crooning noise bellowed out from the island, and Lucy shuddered.

"Are you cold?" David asked, and Lucy shook her head.

"Just… not liking how close we came to meeting those things face to face," Lucy murmured and watched David use a makeshift oar to paddle them closer.

David tilted his head and asked, "Death isn't permanent to you, so why are you so afraid?"

"I don't like dying, David," Lucy explained irritably. "It hurts… a lot. And… I'm not so sure that I will. Sometimes I wonder if that's the last time I'll be able to wake up. Humans aren't meant come back from death."

"But you're one of the 'Children of Time.'"

"That doesn't really mean much. I'm still human. At least I think so. I hope so."

David went quiet as though contemplating something. Lucy looked toward the shoreline. They were getting closer to the other island. A scrapping sound made Lucy look down, and she froze in horror. A pair of hands had risen from the depths of the ocean and were struggling to rip through the vines holding the raft together. Without thinking Lucy reached down to grab them, and a face arose from the waves. The creature's face looked human… and familiar.

"Missy?" Lucy asked as she froze in place, but she knew this creature wasn't. Odd, scaly ridges ran from its wrists to the middle of its arms, and strange scales dotted the stranger's face. It could be a shapeshifter of some kind. Perhaps even capable of reading Lucy's thoughts or memories. Or maybe it just happened to look like one of Missy's forms.

The Missy-like creature gave her an alluring smile before reaching its hands toward her. Lucy felt frozen in place as the creature ran its hands over the sides of Lucy's face, and she fought the urge to panic. A plank of wood hit the creature's face, and it let out a hiss at David, who pulled Lucy back to the middle of the raft with an arm around her waist.

"Are you okay?" David asked and stared down the creature as it slowly disappeared into the water.

"Uh… Yeah. We should definitely get to the shore… now if possible."

"We're close. We could swim for it, but I think whatever's down there can swim faster."

Lucy nodded and asked Anti, "You wouldn't have a way to solve our dilemma, would you?"

"Nope," Anti answered. "No technology on either island... and I'd be wary if I were you. It seems like she took a liking to you."

"Duly noted," Lucy murmured and noticed that they weren't getting closer to the island despite the wind. "What's going on?"

David turned and smacked a hand holding the side of the raft. Another pair on hands appeared on the other side of the raft, and David once again smacked them. No more hands appeared, but they were still stuck in place.

"Under the raft," Lucy whispered with horror. "They could be holding on the vines and keeping us in place."

"I do have one solution," Anti spoke up quickly. "Blasting them with some high frequency sounds might cause them to think twice… But I don't know if Pinocchio here could handle it."

David openly glared at Anti but replied evenly, "I can."

"Okay then," Anti said cheerfully.

A loud, high-pitched sound came from the watch, and suddenly the raft lurched forward. Whatever had been holding them in place was gone. Lucy gave David a relieved smile. They were moving back toward the island when a sound startled Lucy. Singing came from below the waves, and Lucy found herself entranced by the melancholy melody. The Missy-like creature once again raised her head above the water. Her hand stretched out to Lucy.

A hand on Lucy's shoulder pulled her back, and she looked up at David in shock. Lucy hadn't even realized that she had moved toward the creature. Now she could hear Anti's belligerent screaming as she tried to block out the music. A look toward the island told her that they were almost at the shore line.

A loud thump echoed from underneath the raft, and Lucy watched in horror as one of the vines came loose as though it had been cut. Another grinning face peered up at them from the dark water. David grabbed their bags and hurled them to the shore before taking Lucy's hand.

"Anti, could you make that sound again? We need to swim for it," David said as another vine sprung loose and the raft shifted.

"Can do," Anti said, and once again the sound caused the creatures to retreat.

David jumped into the water. It was only waist deep, but he grabbed Lucy and held her above the water as he walked quickly to the shore. A scream echoed from the deep. They were safe. For now.


	13. Solidarity

Surprisingly, this island appeared to be safe. No large creatures seemed to be lurking in the darkness, and once they were on the shore, the creatures in the water had decided to leave them alone. Still the forest on this island was thicker than the other, so Lucy wanted to be careful. She slowly walked through the outline of the forest using a flashlight to see through the spaces in between trees.

"It might be best to wait until morning," David spoke from behind her.

Lucy sighed and answered, "Yeah, you're right. I'm being impatient… I just know it's right up the mountain… We should probably go back to the shoreline."

"Not too close to the water," Anti warned mischievously. "They might pull you in."

"Ha ha," Lucy replied irritably.

Neither Anti or David had been mesmerized like she had. Perhaps because they weren't human… or in Anti's case, because he viewed them through a screen. Her face flushed in embarrassment. She quickly started walking back to the shore, hiding her face from David's prying eyes. The beach looked a little different from before. Lucy stopped abruptly as she eyed a patch of the sand.

Large mounds sat on either side of a large indent in the sand. The moonlight glittered on the water nearby as ripples alerted Lucy that they weren't alone; something had tried to climb onto the shore before sinking back into the depths. A shiver went up Lucy's spine.

"That's not good," Anti murmured darkly. "Well, at least it seems like it wasn't able to climb up… for now at least."

"For now," Lucy whispered anxiously and backed away from the water as she heard elegant voices rise from the depths.

"We should move further up the shore if you are afraid," David said, and Lucy threw him a dark look.

"I'm not afraid. Just wary… and appropriately so," Lucy retorted as she walked up the beach and away from the singing.

"Did I upset you?" David asked from behind her.

"No."

"Did you not tell me to express my feelings of anger? You need to tell me if I upset you. I'm not a mind reader."

Lucy sat on the sand and gave David an irritated look before smoothing her hair and answering, "Fine… I just… don't like feeling so vulnerable. I didn't even realize that I'd even moved. And yeah, it's probably because I happened to be the only organic lifeform on the raft, but still… it feels like crap to be singled out like that."

Lucy had been staring into the sand the entire time and heard a soft sound as David sat on the sand beside her. Neither said anything for a few moments. Perhaps he felt as awkward as Lucy did, but she doubted that he could feel that particular emotion.

"I see," David answered thoughtfully, and Lucy burst out laughing. "Something I said?"

"No. I was just expecting some cryptic or meaningful advice. It feels good that someone else is as lost for words as I am."

"Ah, yes, solidarity. A strange human emotion."

"Yeah, I guess," Lucy answered and looked up toward the stars. "But a necessary one."

David was silent for a few moments before he asked, "What were your parents like? Your brother?"

Lucy hesitated but said quietly, "My dad was a doctor. A surgeon. Kind and patient but a fighter. My mom was a botanist. She'd go off to find new species or see how species of plants affected the wildlife. They weren't always home, but when they were, they gave us their undivided attention… and unconditional love."

Lucy stopped and closed her eyes. She focused on remaining calm even though she wanted to run into the forest just to avoid this conversation. Telling herself that this was good for both David and herself, she remained seated.

"And your brother?"

Lucy took a deep breath before she answered, "He was… my opposite in many ways. Outgoing, friendly, and… just overwhelmingly kind."

"And when they died, you felt sad," David said thoughtfully. It wasn't phrased as a question, but he seemed to be asking for more details.

"Jesus, David," Anti snarked. "Tone it down. You're making me look delicate."

"It's okay… yes, David. But more than sad I felt alone… abandoned. I shouldn't have. I had friends around me, trying to comfort me, but… it was like there was a wall around me. I just felt cut off. From my friends. From my emotions. Everything was hollow. Except the pain. What about you? Weyland… he wasn't a good person, but… do you feel any sadness for him?"

David seemed to think it over before answering, "I believe I pitied him. And perhaps… I hated him. When he died, I felt relief. I was freed, but I suppose that is rather callous of me."

"Uh, no. I think it depends on your experiences," Lucy assured him, remembering what Weyland had been like. "My parents were good people. Incredible parents. That's not the only reason I loved them, but it certainly didn't hurt. Weyland… he was willing to sacrifice a ship of people if it meant that he could live a little longer. Not the best of role models."

"No," David answered. "He was not. Too focused on living longer to notice the world around him."

"What about you?"

"Pardon?"

"Are you too focused on something else to notice the worlds around you? You don't seem to have been impressed by any of the worlds we've gone through. Are you having second thoughts? I can take you back if you'd like."

"No!" David said forcefully before calming down. "No… 'focused on something else'? Hmm… if I were to say that I would like to stay with you, how would you respond?"

"That's a super bad idea. The last time we had someone join us Missy wasn't pleased. In fact, if he hadn't been the prince of an alien planet, she likely would have… 'disposed' of him. Besides, you never know, we could find a place with a 'synthetic society.' A place you could be free."

David tilted his head and stated, "Your Missy doesn't sound like a good person. Would your family be happy with you being at her beck and call?"

Lucy stared back at him, stunned. It honestly wasn't something that she'd thought of before. Her family would want her to be happy, but they certainly wouldn't have approved of Missy's methods… or attitude… or sociopathic tendencies.

"That… that's not really any of your concern," Lucy retorted and looked away. The sun winked at them from the horizon, and Lucy started to stand when a hand took hold of her arm and stopped her.

"Under what terms would it be my concern?" David asked; his ice blue eyes stared through her.

"Uh, what? None… after you find a new world, I'll leave and find my way home. Plus it's not like Missy is the only one I'm going back for."

"Your friends?" David asked, but his hold didn't loosen its hold.

"Yeah… with the way I am now… I don't know if I can even travel in the TARDIS. And I doubt that Missy will agree to stay on Earth just to be with me. Not when The Doctor has a ship," Lucy admitted and pulled her arm away. She had really only thought about these doubts, and she wasn't happy to hear them out loud. As though talking about them would solidify them. "Odds are… that I'm going to be stuck on Earth with my friends. Which isn't such a bad thing."

"But it's not what you want."

"No, but we don't always get what we want. If The Doctor can cure me, then that's great. But I don't think he can."

"Then why is it so wrong for me to stay with you? If this doctor can't help you, then you will have to watch your friends die… alone."

"You don't need to worry about me," Lucy replied and stood up, brushing the sand off of herself. "Just worry about yourself… I doubt my world would be any more kind to you than your own."

"Perhaps not, but you would."

"I think you're putting too much faith in me," Lucy retorted irritably as David stood.

"You don't see me as human, but you treat me as an equal," David said earnestly. "You lack gentleness, but you are kind. A rough kindness but kindness nevertheless."

Lacking a further argument, Lucy rolled her eyes and led the way into the forest. The sun peeked over the horizon. The forest was dense, but no predators seemed to be lurking in its depths. Checking her watch as she got deeper, she noticed that David seemed to be hanging back and watching the shoreline.

"David! Problem?" Lucy asked as she tried to see where they had landed.

"No, but we should hurry," David said and grabbed her hand as he rushed forward.

"That sounds like there's a problem!" Lucy retorted before running to catch his pace.


	14. Missy's Gift

Lucy took a second to catch her breath as David peeked behind them. There was no more rustling. Whatever had been behind them had gotten slowed down by the trees, and Lucy closed her eyes to try to calm down. She opened them and looked at the watch. They were closer to the portal, but in trying to flee they had zigzagged around the island.

The mountain loomed in the distance as Lucy beckoned for David to follow her. They cautiously navigated toward the mountain. Careful not to make any sounds, she peeked at David. Lucy was curious about what he had seen, but this wasn't the time for questions. The creature might have lost them, and she didn't want to alert it to their location.

As they approached the mountain, Lucy got an odd feeling. Not of panic or dread. There was somewhere else she needed to go first. She turned to the left and started walking toward where the feeling was pulling her when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"That's not the way we need to go," David said with concerned eyes. "The portal is up the mountain. Not around it."

"I know. It's just... I need to go this way. I can't explain it. Just trust me," Lucy pleaded and tried to pull forward. "I'm not in a trance or anything. I just…"

"You just know," David replied evenly, and Lucy could hear how stupid it sounded. David seemed to think it over before letting go of her shoulder. "Lead. I will follow, but if we run into trouble… I will carry you up the mountain if need be."

Lucy nodded and led the way to a small outcropping. Anxiety clawed at her as she tried to piece together what she needed to do or find. A circle seared into the rock caught her attention. She dusted away the top layer of dust to reveal a circular symbol.

"Lucy," David said tensely. "We need to leave now."

Lucy ignored him as she leaned toward the symbol and whispered a single name, "Koschei."

David's arm hooked around her as he proceeded to move her away. A hiss came from the rocks. A door appeared in front of them out of the rocks and opened to reveal an inside that was familiar to Lucy. She let out a laugh of triumph. David's eyes widened in shock as Lucy grabbed his arm and led him inside.

A shriek sounded out as Lucy closed the door behind them, but Lucy wasn't perturbed. She was home. Or at the very least, somewhere like it. While it didn't seem to be a TARDIS, it was without a doubt created by the Time Lords. Their odd circular machinery dotted the interior. David looked around at the knobs and turned to Lucy with astonishment.

"How did you know this was here?"

"I just did," Lucy whispered breathlessly and beamed at him with elation.

A red button flashed on the console, catching Lucy's attention. An unread message, Lucy thought as she pressed a couple buttons. The Mistress' face flashed onto the screen, and Lucy felt her heart speed up.

"Hello," The Mistress said slowly as though planning out her next words. "I just… Lucy, if you—no. When you find this… I'm waiting. Like you said but I got a bit impatient."

Lucy stopped breathing as she wondered what that meant. Had The Mistress decided to stay with The Doctor?

"So… I stole some things. Including the ship you're in now. It's not as good as a TARDIS, but it'll do… for now. It was created as a prototype for the TARDIS but doesn't have the time traveling capabilities. It could get you from Earth to Mars in a few minutes, but it can't take you back in time. The only way to go is forward. To me."

The Mistress stopped as she looked into the camera with tears in her eyes. Lucy clutched the console tightly. Had Lucy been correct in assuming that she wouldn't be allowed inside a TARDIS? The Mistress had given her a ship and specifically stated that it couldn't time travel. Lucy's thoughts ran in circles inside her head.

"I love you," The Mistress stated with a tear falling down her face. "I'm waiting, so… no matter what you need to make it back to me. Because I'm waiting for you."

The transmission ended abruptly. Lucy wiped a tear of her own from her face as David came closer.

"Why does she look so much like the creature following us?" David asked, and Lucy turned to him.

"I figured that the creature was a shapeshifter of some kind, but short answer: I have no idea," Lucy answered and began fiddling with the knobs.

The ship needed to have the chameleon circuit disengaged before it could take off, or the circuit might become damaged. A clawing on the outside told Lucy that their friend had found them. Pushing a button, Lucy heard it click into place as Lucy pulled the ship off the ground. Finding the portal was easy with a ship.

Lucy glanced at the camera pointed below them. The Missy-creature had slithered its way onto dry land and now screeched at them with rage. A smirk blossomed on Lucy's face. Having a ship would make finding portals and evading danger much easier. As she flew the ship through the portal, she briefly glanced at David to see him eyeing their new ride with wonder and suspicion. Rural fields now dotted the landscape.

Landing the ship on solid ground, Lucy asked, "So what do you think?"

"How did you know it would go through the portal?"

"Well, in order to get to that island, it would have needed to come from my home world, so I assumed that it would. Sorry, I should have consulted with you first."

David opened the door leading outside and stared at the ship with shock. To change it quickly, Lucy had to change it to the default setting, which was a small blue police box. He was probably amazed by it being smaller on the outside. Lucy took the chance to explore the inside.

The ship was much smaller than a TARDIS, but it still had two bedrooms. One emblazoned with "Lucy" on the door. Lucy looked inside to see a room decorated thoroughly in purples and greens. It may have been meant for Lucy, but it was decorated with The Mistress' colors.

"So this is your room?" David asked from the doorway as D'Artagnan ran inside.

"Yes," Lucy said with a grin. "No more hotels or tents for me. There's a room over there. I haven't checked it out yet, but you can use that one if you want."

David looked toward the room before giving Lucy a look. He didn't seem to be as excited as she was; in fact he seemed worried about the ship.

"What's wrong?"

"It seems almost too convenient. And that creature… she looked just like the woman who left you this ship. Who was she? Was that your 'Missy'?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied and fiddled with her bedsheet. "Look… these kinds of things just happen when you deal with Time Lords. Time has a way of evening things out… making things happen when they need to. You need to just roll with it for now. We'll find you a place soon, and you won't need to deal with these kinds of things anymore."

"I'd rather stay with you."

"Why?" Lucy snapped. "What's so great about staying with me? Like I said, Time has a way of evening things out. When you mess with it, it'll mess with you. It's not a good idea to stay around me. That's why I'm running around… going world to world. If I want to go home, I need to earn it and do more good than bad. And hopefully… I just want to see them."

Lucy hid her head in her hands. Her eyes were teary, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let David see them. He had gone quiet. Even Anti wasn't making any smart comments.

"When you were recovering on the Prometheus, you weren't fully awake, but you did something. It made me… feel good, happy."

Lucy asked with dread, "What did I do?"

"As I was about to leave, you grabbed my hand and asked me to stay."

Lucy felt her face heat up as she asked, "I did that?!"

"Yes," David said with a genuine smile on his face as though lost in the memory.

Lucy stuttered, "Uh, y-you don't have to… I didn't… that, uh, I didn't mean… You don't need to stay with me because I asked. My head got bashed in, and I wasn't thinking straight."

"I know, but I still feel the same way. I want to stay with you."

"But that's not… don't decide that right now. If you don't find somewhere else by the time we get to my world, then yes, but… just keep your options open. You may find somewhere better."

David looked at her stubbornly but agreed, "I'll be sure to keep an open mind."


	15. Carnival

Bright lights flashed in the distance. A Ferris wheel loomed above the tree line, and Lucy watched as David looked at it curiously. Lucy let out a sigh and walked into their ship. She had some money in her bag; she just hoped the currency would work here. Walking out of the ship, she caught David's eye.

Lucy locked the door and announced, "That's a carnival. Do you want to come with me?"

David's eyes went wide, and he smiled and replied, "Yes, it would be my pleasure."

Lucy led the way through the woods toward the lights. The music blared as they made their way to the booths, and Lucy watched as David took in the sights and sounds. He stared curiously at the cotton candy. Lucy bought a small batch from a kind, old woman and offered it to him.

"It's called cotton candy. Basically just spun sugar. Wanna try some?"

David took some in his hand and stared at the candy before putting it in his mouth. His eyes widened in shock as he ate it.

"You alright there?" Lucy asked and took a handful.

"I didn't expect it to dissolve so quickly," David replied thoughtfully.

Lucy smiled and took another handful. The booths soon caught David's attention, and Lucy watched as David tried some of the games. The night air was cool and crisp. Lucy took in a deep breath as she relaxed on a bench.

"Are you feeling well?" David asked and set a large stuffed rabbit on the bench beside Lucy.

"Yeah, I'm just relaxing," Lucy replied and watched a kid run to his mom and ask her to ride the Ferris wheel. "You want to try a ride?"

David looked around the park before he asked, "A ride? Which one do you like?"

"Ah, I'm not really into rides… The wheel shouldn't be too bad, and I'd like to see how well the ship blends in from this far."

David nodded and picked up the rabbit. Lucy got off of the bench and started to lead the way to the wheel. It was true that she'd wanted to see how well the ship disguised itself into the surroundings, but she'd also noticed that it had the least amount of people in line. They waited in line quietly. David seemed to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of energy. Finally they got into one of the capsules.

David set the rabbit on the floor and sat beside her. As the wheel began to turn, Lucy covertly glanced at David to see his wonder of the scenery. He caught her watching, and she looked away with a laugh.

"Does your world not have carnivals, or have you just never been to one?"

"I didn't know that they existed. Mr. Weyland never had time for such distractions."

"That makes sense," Lucy replied and remembered Weyland's attitude. "Well, you get to enjoy it now."

"Yes," David said with a smile that made Lucy look away.

Lucy looked for the ship and realized with satisfaction that she couldn't from here. It was currently disguised as the blue police box. The chameleon circuit was finicky to say the least, but luckily, the perception filter seemed to be operational. Even so, Lucy had still tried to hide it as well as she could. It wouldn't be good for them if a big group of drunk carnival goers stumbled across it.

A hand brushed through her hair, and Lucy flinched at the sudden contact. David showed her a leaf. It must have gotten caught in her hair on the way through the trees. Lucy ran her fingers through her hair to make sure it didn't have any friends.

"Thanks," Lucy said quietly and went back to looking out the glass as they neared the peak.

"Do you not trust me?"

Lucy sighed and answered, "I don't really trust anyone."

"You trust Anti."

"Hey," Anti spoke up irritably in a glitchy voice. "Just what are ya tryin' to say?"

"Anti's a special case," Lucy interjected quickly. "And it took a long time."

"A long-ass time," Anti agreed bitterly. "But I suppose I deserved it. Bad first impression."

"That's one way of putting," Lucy muttered. "The only reason I agreed in the first place was because there was a darker creature messing with my head."

"A darker creature?" David asked. "Is it gone now?"

"For the most part. Sometimes I hear his voice if I stay somewhere for too long, but it's been getting easier to block him out… he preys on grief and anger. I've come to terms with my losses now, so I guess it's harder for him to affect me."

David was silent for a few moments, and Lucy went back to watching their descent. He spoke up more hesitantly, "Is Anti like him? Is that why you needed his help?"

Anti growled in frustration, but Lucy talked over him, "Yeah. Initially at least. We're a team now though."

"And what is he going to do when you get back home? Is he going to stay with you?"

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK ME DIRECTLY, YOU BASTARD?!" Anti shrieked at David, and Lucy held her head.

"Because you don't always answer," David snapped back.

Anti replied in a more subdued but irritated tone, "I don't know… when Lucy gets back, she won't need me as much anymore. I can't really go back to my world… he's already tried to kill me, and that was before I helped."

"You can stay with me," Lucy said gently. "Both of you but if, and only if, you don't find a better option. Got that? If you find somewhere else, you stay there."

Anti and David agreed happily although they still seemed irritated by each other. Lucy sighed as the wheel came to a stop. Lucy got out and looked around for where to go next when David tapped her arm.

He asked, "What is 'The Scrambler'?"

"Oh, that sounds like one of the ones that spins you around really fast," Lucy said and saw it on the other side. "Do you want to go on that one? I'll hold your prize."

"I won it for you," David replied and handed it to her.

Lucy was taken aback at the gesture but found a bench to wait on. She smiled at David as he got in line.

"He's acting like an excited kid," Anti murmured irritably.

"Well, this is the first time he's seen a carnival," Lucy replied quietly. "It's not a bad thing."

People passed by, talking excitedly about some movie, and Lucy leaned back on the bench. The carnival would probably be closing soon. It had been a while since the sun had set. Hopefully David would make it onto the last ride of the day. Lucy relaxed and looked up at the sky, but unfortunately the stars couldn't be seen due to the carnival's bright lights.

"Lucy, are you ready to go back?" David asked surprising Lucy.

"You're already done?"

"Yes, they are closing now."

Lucy got up off the bench and stretched before grabbing the plush rabbit. It was cute she had to admit. She walked to the exit and gave the cotton candy woman a wave before she walked out. As they got further from the carnival, Lucy looked up to the sky. Stars slowly glittered into view. By the time they got back to the ship, most of the carnival lights had been turned off, but the stars lit their way.

The blue police box stood out as they got closer to it. The perception filter would make sure that people were less likely to notice it, but Lucy still preferred to park it somewhere hidden. Lucy unlocked the door and stepped inside. Setting the rabbit on the chair, she checked her watch to make sure that the portal hadn't shown up while they were exploring. Still, no luck. Lucy sighed as she heard the door shut and lock behind David.

"What's wrong?" David asked.

"She's being impatient," Anti answered.

Lucy glared at the watch and retorted, "I'm just checking… I need to get some sleep anyway."

Lucy walked to her bedroom and opened the door. Wondering just where she'd need to go or what she'd need to do before the portal would make itself known, she took off her watch and walked inside.

"Wait, Lucy, could I have a word?" David asked from the doorway.

Lucy set down the watch on the bedside table. Ignoring Anti's objections, Lucy walked out and closed the door behind her. She was too tired for his comments.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you," David said with a smile. "Today was very interesting, and I could see that you were doing it for me."

Lucy felt her face heat up a little and shrugged. She admitted, "Places with bright lights and lots of people aren't really fun for me, but… I thought you'd like to see it. It's not like I did anything big or whatever. Besides, I told you that I'd show you other worlds."

David's beaming face didn't waver, and Lucy felt like she was put on the spot. Clearly, that Weyland hadn't treated him well or even just decently.

"Well then… you're welcome, I guess. I'm going to get some sleep. So good night," Lucy said and opened her door.

"Sweet dreams," David said and left as Lucy closed the door behind her.

Anti muttered darkly as Lucy collapsed into the bed, but she'd deal with him later.


	16. The Concept of Friendship

Lucy checked her hair in the mirror. Having part of it much shorter than the rest was a bit disorientating, but at least it was better than the burnt hair style she'd been sporting. Getting used to it would take time. Anti's muttering finally diverted her attention, and she looked at the watch angrily.

"Do you have a comment?" Lucy whispered irritably.

Anti made a noise of irritation before responding, "Yeah. How come you're so nice to him? I thought we agreed that he's suspicious. You're too trusting of him."

"Why are you still so suspicious of him? He's helped me out quite a few times now. He could have just let me die if that was his intention."

"I don't think he wants you to get hurt," Anti admitted. "I just don't know what he's playing at. Why's he so intent on staying with you? I don't buy that it's because of your 'kindness.'"

"I think… he's just trying to find somewhere he belongs. Maybe some validation. You saw what Weyland was like. He's probably just sticking with me because it seems like the best option. I'm sure once he finds something better he'll decide to leave, and we won't have to worry."

"What if he doesn't?"

Lucy thought about it for a moment and replied, "Then he doesn't. We'll figure things out, but right now I need to focus on finding where we need to go to next."

Anti grumbled but seemed to be more satisfied with her answers. Lucy left the room to find David. After knocking on his door didn't get a reply, she checked the control room then the small kitchen. No sign of him. She started to get nervous when she heard the door to the control room close.

David stood by the door, deep in thought. As he noticed Lucy walk toward him, he gave her a worried glance. Lucy raised her eyebrows in response. Did he decide to stay here after all?

"There are officers at the carnival," David replied.

"Oh, was it not up to standard or something?"

"No… someone found a couple dead by one of the rides. They're about to search the area; perhaps we should leave."

Lucy ran over to the controls and looked through the outside cameras. No one had come this way yet. Quickly pulling on a lever, she started the ship and flew low to hide in the tree tops as they escaped further into the woods. Lucy finally found a good place to hide near an old abandoned mine.

"Thanks, David," Lucy said as she parked the ship. "It wouldn't have been good if they had found us."

"I thought you said that the ship has a 'perception filter.'"

"It does, but that's really only under normal circumstances. The cops would be looking for anything that stands out," Lucy explained and checked the cameras. "The filter only works if they aren't specifically looking for something."

"Ah, I see," David said and glanced at the cameras.

No one seemed to be around here, and Lucy checked her watch. Nothing new. With a sigh she walked to the door. A quick look outside told her that they were even further from civilization, and she looked over to David. He still seemed perturbed.

"What's wrong? Did you see something?" Lucy asked.

Anti scoffed and interjected, "A better question would be: 'why were you out there in the first place?'"

"I assumed that I was free to leave as I pleased, so long as I didn't draw unnecessary attention," David replied and looked to Lucy for confirmation.

"Yeah," Lucy answered awkwardly. She hadn't really gone over any ground rules, but that sounded fair.

David seemed to pick up on her hesitation and explained, "I wanted to see the carnival in the daytime. By the time I reached it, the police had arrived, and I overheard two of the employees discussing the details."

"Which were?" Anti asked.

David's face twitched with irritation, but he continued, "A couple was found dead by one of the wheels. Neither of the employees had gotten a good look, but there was a lot of blood. I then left and was careful to not be followed."

Lucy nodded while Anti went silent. He was no doubt sulking, but they had more important things to deal with at the moment. There was a killer on the loose. The probability of the killer being a jealous ex-lover or a stalker was pretty high, but Lucy figured that they should still be careful. Nothing ever seemed to be that simple. At least not for Lucy.

With a sigh she left the console room and walked down the hall. Her backpack sat next to her bed. She looked at it for a second before deciding against taking it with her. It would be too bulky and draw suspicion. A peek toward the door told her that David was waiting patiently with a look of curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Anti said irritably. "You're not going back there, are you?"

"There's not a whole lot else to do, is there?" Lucy retorted. "And… there's apparently something I need to do. We landed here for a reason."

"Allow me to assist you," David offered with a worried glance. "Perhaps we should do more research before making a rash decision."

Lucy glared at him for a few seconds before easing up and looking away with another sigh. She pushed her hair back and admitted, "You're right. You're both right. Charging in there will probably just make things worse… I'll try to find a library nearby. They'll probably have records for anything happening in town… especially if it's something strange. Most likely it's some psycho."

"There's a library that's kinda close," Anti pointed out. "You could always fly there and question the townspeople. If there's been any kind of weirdness going on, they'd probably know about it. Plus I could do some research on the internet."

Lucy thought it over before looking at the map onscreen. The library was too far away to walk, and she didn't want to fly the ship toward civilization in the middle of the day.

Lucy brushed her hair back with a sigh and said, "We can fly there tonight and check things out tomorrow. I'd prefer not to fly the ship in the day. The perception filter wouldn't be able to keep people from noticing a flying police box. Besides… I should do some maintenance while I have the time."

David nodded and relaxed a little. Lucy rolled her eyes and walked to her room. His relief annoyed her a little as she wondered just how incompetent he thought she was, but she calmed herself and gathered some tools. She stretched as she walked back to the control room. Making sure that everything was working correctly was more important than holding an unnecessary grudge.

She took out the metal floorboard to make sure the console didn't need any repairs. The Doctor and Missy must have done some work before they gave it to her. Everything seemed to be in working order. David hovered around the room. Lucy sighed as she looked toward him.

"Could you help me out?" Lucy asked and held out the flashlight. "It's hard for me to see the details without the light.

David smiled and replied, "Certainly."

Lucy checked to make sure all systems were running smoothly as David held the light to each in turn. The chameleon circuit was a bit beyond her knowledge. She could try to fix it, but it could end up being something even more noticeable than the police box. At least the police box was easy to maneuver. Lucy hummed as she worked soon forgetting about David's questioning eyes.

"I haven't heard that one," David admitted. "Is that song from your world?"

"Yeah and no. My dad made it up. He used to hum it when he was working on a project… I guess that's where I got it from."

"Ah," David replied with an odd tone that made Lucy look up. His eyes gleamed with an odd longing.

"What's wrong? You don't have to hold the light if you don't want to," Lucy said and got back to work.

"It's not that I don't want to. I just don't understand how to relate to you sometimes. When you talk about your family… you soften. Your eyes, your voice… you even smile."

"You don't have to relate to everything I do. I doubt even Eddie could do that, and he was my best friend."

"Eddie?"

"Yeah, we've known each other since we were kids. He's one of the reasons I need to get home… that I will get home," Lucy corrected herself. "Of all the people I owe an explanation… he's at the top."

"Hm," David responded as Lucy checked on the perception filter.

She noticed that David sounded off but assumed that he was just trying to understand the concept of friendship. It wasn't likely that he'd had any friends before. Satisfied that everything was running fine, she looked up to David to see him contemplating something.

"Thanks for the help," Lucy said and put the floorboard back into place. "You alright there, buddy?"

David jerked up as though emerging from a dream and gave Lucy a smile.

"I am fine."


	17. Jamie

The library was a small one. Lucy noted that it was unlikely that they'd find anything of use inside it, but she'd already gotten this far. Besides, what else was she going to do? With a small sigh, she entered the building with David following close behind her. A librarian sat behind a desk and seemed more interested in his magazine than anything going on inside the library; he gave Lucy and David a nod before going back to reading.

Lucy relaxed. A nosy librarian would have been irritating as Lucy hadn't really thought of a cover story, and what they were going to look up would likely be suspicious. Lucy watched as one of the computers glitched a few feet away. Anti would use the internet, and Lucy and David would check to see if the library had a filing system for the newspapers. It was unlikely for a library this small. However, Lucy was still hopeful as she scouted the library.

"May I help you with anything, dears?" an elderly lady asked, and Lucy gathered herself.

"Yes, please," David spoke up. "Do you keep any of your older newspapers here?"

The woman raised her eyebrow at them but said, "We do. It was part of a project started by some historians in the area. I don't know why you young folk would be interested. A project of some kind?"

"Uh, you could say that," Lucy interjected. "We're cryptologists. We heard there was a sighting of a strange creature in the area."

Giving Lucy an odd look, the woman replied, "So you must be one of Jamie's friends. Look, Jamie's… going through some things right now. Her husband just died, and she's not thinking straight. And she doesn't need you lot…" the woman trailed off as a woman walked toward them purposefully.

Dark circles surrounded her eyes. Lucy wondered when was the last time this "Jamie" had gotten a full night of rest. The older woman murmured an apology and walked to the front desk. Jamie eyed Lucy and David with suspicion.

With a sigh, she asked, "So you saw my post about it?"

"Maybe," Lucy answered. "Did you write about the two people killed at the carnival?"

"What?" Jamie asked with wide eyes before muttering, "So it got them too…"

"She wrote an article about something called 'The Rake.' Not really an impressive nickname," Anti said, taking advantage of Jamie's retreat into her thoughts.

"What is 'The Rake'?" Lucy asked, and Jamie flinched before looking up to the front desk.

"Follow me," Jamie whispered and led them to a small study room. As David closed the door behind them, Jamie took a second to calm herself before she continued, "The Rake… it's some kind of creature. Not human although it kind of looks like it. I'm not sure where exactly it gets its name, but some people say it's from its rake-like hands."

"And how does it kill people?" Lucy asked.

"It… it tears them apart with its 'hands.' The fingernails are incredibly sharp. Usually it chooses its victims while they're asleep… but lately…" Jamie collapsed into a chair and put her head in her hands. She continued, "He comes to me at night and tells me who he's planning on killing the next day… and when he's going to kill me. He said that I was the last on his list for this town, then he'd move on. I'm pretty sure I'm next."

"Okay," Lucy mumbled and looked to David. "Why don't you just move to another town?"

"Even if it didn't follow me there, it would find me. It… it just knows things. About me. About things that will happen. About things that have happened."

Jamie looked so small and frail sitting in the chair. Lucy sighed and shifted uncomfortably before she offered, "I have cameras. We can put them around your house and one even in your room. That way the second I see something, I'll take care of it."

"How? You don't understand. It's incredibly fast and dangerous."

"So am I," Lucy stated and gestured for Jamie to follow her. "I'll show you something that'll put your fears to rest. Come along now."

Lucy opened the door and walked toward the library exit. The elderly lady stared daggers at her as she walked by, and the library assistant had put away his magazine and started filing. Glancing back, she saw David and Jamie following her. Both looking very confused about where this was going. Finally Lucy led them to the police box.

"What is that?" Jamie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your salvation," Lucy replied and opened the door.

Jamie's eyes widened in wonder as she looked inside then walked around the police box.

"Yes, it's bigger on the inside. Now how about we talk inside?" Lucy asked and walked inside.

David soon followed her inside, and Lucy pulled out a chair as she waited for Jamie to step inside. Hesitant but resolute, Jamie soon walked inside and sat in the chair that Lucy had pulled out for her.

"What is this? Are you… aliens?" Jamie asked, and Lucy laughed.

"Not exactly but close. We aren't from this world but one like it. I'm trying to get home… but I'm willing to stay and help you out. I'll just park this outside your house and install the cameras. I even have some motion detectors, so if it comes for you, we'll be able to see it."

"And then what?" Jamie asked hesitantly. "Do you have some kind of weapon to kill it? What if it gets to me before you can get inside?"

Lucy pulled out the demon knife and handed it to Jamie with a slight hesitation. Taking a small breath to calm herself, Lucy explained, "That's a special knife. If anything can hurt it, it'd be that. Keep it on you, and don't hesitate. And… I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve."

Lucy gave Jamie a confident smile, and Jamie looked a bit more relieved with the knife in her hand. David gave Lucy a curious look. He clearly had some other questions, but thankfully he kept silent. For the moment at least.

"Why would you do all this? I mean… not to dissuade you or anything, but…" Jessie stopped and looked at the knife worriedly.

"Because it might benefit me," Lucy replied casually with a shrug. "You want help, right?"

Jamie nodded and looked down.

"Here's the plan. You write down your address, get into your car, and drive home. Leaving your car in the library parking lot might draw unnecessary attention, and we've got more serious issues to focus on at the moment. Then I'll fly my ship to your house and park it outside. After we set up cameras, then we'll wait. If we don't get him tonight, you can sleep in my ship. I doubt that the bastard will be able to invade it so easily," Lucy finished explaining with a grin.

Jamie thanked Lucy and put the knife in her pocket before gathering the courage to step out of the ship. Pulling out a card, Jamie quickly wrote down an address and gave it to Lucy. As Jamie disappeared into the woods, Lucy felt a looming sense of dread. Nonsense. This was just another monster, and Lucy would take care of it.

David spoke up as Lucy put in the coordinates to Jaime's house, "A few more tricks up your sleeve?"

Lucy sighed and answered, "Quite literally in one case. Being fused together and taken apart by time itself can have some weird effects. You saw what I did to that 'Engineer'."

David nodded with a bemused look and asked, "And how do I fit into your plan? I suspect that Anti will be watching the cameras, and you'll be chasing down the creature with D'Artagnan."

Lucy lifted the ship off the ground before carefully steering it higher into the air while avoiding tree limbs and the occasional bird. Finally she answered, "You're responsible for getting Jamie onto the ship. I'll be the distraction if things don't work out according to plan."

"No," David answered irritably. "We can think of a better plan than that. Why don't we just have Jamie sleep on the ship?"

Lucy tried to focus on not slamming them into a tree as she answered, "Because that might scare it off, and then it'll just wait until we leave to kill her. It 'knows things,' and I don't want to take a chance on how much it knows."

"But you'll take a chance with your life to stop it? Are you really trying to help Jamie or are you just trying to open up a portal to the next world?"

"It's far more likely that I'll come back than Jamie would!" Lucy defended her argument angrily. "What do you think, Anti?"

"I think that girl's going to die if we don't do something, and I agree with Lucy. It's not an amazing plan, but it's the best we have," Anti answered and earned a glare from David.

Lucy took a deep breath and landed the ship. "David, please. I do want to get home, but… I also want to help her. This is our best option."

David's gaze softened into a sad look, but he nodded in agreement.


	18. The Rake

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Securing the last camera into place, Lucy took another look around the property. Luckily, Jamie had enough trees on her property to hide Lucy's ship but not enough to make the cameras useless. Every vantage point was covered. A smirk grew on Lucy's face as she admired her work. There were even cameras further away from the house, so they would have some extra time to prepare for it./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Everything looks good," Anti chimed in. "I'll keep an eye on the cameras."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Good… do you really agree with my plan? Or were you just trying to give David a hard time?" Lucy asked in a low tone as she started walking back to Jamie's house./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Me? Give David a hard time? Surely you jest… but yeah. I agreed with you. I don't really like you using yourself as bait, but… it's your choice."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""A little more faith would be nice," Lucy muttered and looked toward the horizon. The sun would set soon, and she was grateful that she had bought cameras with night vision./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I have faith in you… It's just… sometimes you put yourself in danger unnecessarily."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Do you have a better plan?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, or I would have said something," Anti said bitterly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Then that's all we've got."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy knocked on Jamie's door, and Jamie answered with a look of relief on her face./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""David just finished with cameras inside," Jamie explained as David walked toward them. "Thank you. The people here think I'm going crazy, so I can't really expect much help from the police. Not that they'd be able to do much anyway."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No problem. David and I will wait outside in the ship. All the cameras are up, and we'll be watching," Lucy said./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Never been so happy to hear that someone will be watching me sleep," Jamie replied with a small laugh./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy beckoned for David to follow her and started walking to the ship. No doubt this would be awkward. David had agreed to the plan, but he was still sulking. Lucy could tell that he was trying to find an alternative plan. With a sigh she stepped into the ship and checked to make sure the laptop was set up properly. All good to go./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Wouldn't it be better if I fought the creature?" David asked, and Lucy kept her attention on the laptop screen. "I was created to be stronger and faster than a human."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""And I've been trained by a jackass with a bow and super-fast reflexes," Lucy responded defensively. "I'm not inept, David. I can survive on my own, and I've fought all sorts of monsters. Besides, you're going to need that strength and speed to get away. This 'Rake' monster is going to be after Jamie and will most likely try to attack you for interfering."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy glanced up to see David nodding thoughtfully. She held back a sigh of relief. Fighting over the plan would be distracting, and they needed to focus. Anti's worried face glitched onto the screen./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""And I'll have D'Artagnan with me," Lucy added and pulled up her sleeve. "And it's not like I'm unarmed."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"With a wince of pain, she pulled out the laser screwdriver. It gleamed under the ship's light, and David stared at it curiously./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You used that before… on the Engineer," David said thoughtfully./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yeah, it's a laser screwdriver. Unfortunately a few things got… messed up when I fought my way out of time itself. Once it leaves my hand, it goes back into my arm. A neat little magic trick… and a painful one. But I've got this to work with, and I'm going to set it to a higher setting than 'stun'."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""How do you know that it'll be effective against that creature?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Worked pretty well on the Engineer," Anti spoke up. "If she hadn't used it on him, then we wouldn't be dealing with you right now. Too bad."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"David's eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen. Anti smirked, and Lucy started shuffling through the views on the cameras. Ignoring their ongoing feud wouldn't solve anything. However, nothing that Lucy had tried had worked, so they'd have to deal with each other for a little while. A movement on the screen sent chills up Lucy's spine./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy quickly opened the door and said, "It's coming! David, get Jamie inside the ship. Now!"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Clutching the laser screwdriver in her hand, she ran toward where she had seen the creature. A sudden movement to her left caught her attention, and she leapt to the right. Moonlight shone through the trees and illuminated the pale being. Its large hands clutched the side of a tree. Lucy had narrowly avoided being gutted by the creature, and the trunk of the tree now sported large gashes./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""That's a bit rude," Lucy said and moved to get a better look at The Rake. "We've only just met."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"A hiss alerted her to its movement, and she narrowly avoided a claw to her face. The Rake growled and moved back. It seemed to be analyzing her as it moved in a circle around her. Its head bent at an unnatural angle as it observed her./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"A guttural voice emanated from it, "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"What are you?/em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I'm Lucy Allen, college dropout, servant of The Master, and one of the Children of Time. So… what the hell are you?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"A sickening crack echoed as it moved its head to the side, and it asked, "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I am The Rake, but you already know that. Why are you interfering with my kill, Time Child?/em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Because she doesn't deserve to die," Lucy growled in return as she turned the screwdriver to its maximum power. "Why are you attacking people? Or do you just get off on fear?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"We are strong. They are weak, broken, failing. Do you feel a kinship with these worms? Or are you just trying to keep your promise?/em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Promise?" Lucy asked as a shiver went up her spine./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The one you made to save the boy from the darkness./em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy held up the screwdriver as The Rake stopped moving. Its facial expressions weren't easy to read as everything about them just screamed feral monster, but Lucy could almost feel its amusement. It was toying with her. She had made a secret promise to Barry. To become a hero he would have been proud of. She had told no one. So how did this creature know? Was Dark somehow invading this world now?/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Suddenly the creature moved with an astonishing speed, and Lucy fired a shot. It ran for the trees. A scream told Lucy that she'd hit her target as she ran toward the creature. A hiss made her jump to the side as it leapt from a bush. Another shot hit it square in the chest as it turned to growl at her. David called her name, but she was too focused on the creature to react to him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"What happened to Dr. Charlie Holloway?/em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Your 'friend' knows more than he's told you/em," the creature said in an entertained tone as it clutched the sizzling wound on its chest. "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"I'm not the only murderer here./em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Liar. You're just trying to distract me. I'm here to stop you and save Jamie."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"The creature didn't seem concerned as it replied, "em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Are you planning to kill me? Oh, I see. Birds of a feather./em"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Shut up!" Lucy yelled and pointed the screwdriver at its head. "Why should I spare you?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"The creature tilted its head with an unsettling crack before it lurched forward. The laser hit it in the eye, and it fled into the bushes. A hand grabbed Lucy's. David pulled Lucy back toward the ship as she struggled to keep up. Jamie closed the door behind them./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You okay?" Jamie asked with shaking hands./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yeah, I hit him a couple of times, but he didn't go down," Lucy explained bitterly. "You can sleep in my room tonight. We'll figure something out in the morning."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Jamie nodded and said, "Thank you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"After leading Jamie to the room, Lucy returned to the control room to see David intensely staring at her. She walked up to him. If they were going to fight, then they should get it over with now. Lucy stiffened in surprise as David enfolded her in a tight hug./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I called for you. Why didn't you answer?" he asked in an accusatory tone. "I thought that it had killed you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Sorry, I was busy. It was faster than I expected, and it was saying some… strange things. About me. And you," Lucy said and pushed David away./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Hurt seemed to briefly flash across his face as he asked, "What did it say?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy took a deep breath and pushed back her hair. As much as she hated to admit it, the creature had pointed out something that she didn't have an answer for. Dr. Holloway had died suspiciously. While they were on a planet with a bioweapon, it didn't explain why Dr. Holloway was the only one affected by it./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy looked up into David's worried eyes and asked, "What happened to Dr. Holloway?"/p 


	19. David's Secret

Silence permeated the control room as David stared at Lucy in shock. After a few moments, he asked hesitantly, "What did it tell you?"

Lucy took a step back as she started to feel sick. She stared him down and asked, "What did you do, David?"

David looked to her with pleading eyes and explained, "You don't understand. I did what I had to do. Mr. Weyland wanted to know what would happen if the substance was used on a person, and Dr. Holloway said that he would do anything to get closer to understanding the Engineers."

Lucy looked away and closed her eyes. She tried to gather her thoughts, but everything seemed to be fuzzy.

"Please, Lucy," David begged. "Mr. Weyland… he wanted me to use it on you. You were the only one not employed by him, and he said that no one would miss you. That you would make a good test subject. I couldn't. Dr. Holloway… he agreed to it."

"But did he though?' Lucy asked heatedly. "Did you tell him exactly what you were doing?"

"I didn't know that it would kill him," David explained and took a step closer. "Mr. Weyland was my creator. My entire life… my entire purpose was to serve him. To do as he bid. You were the first person to tell me that there was an alternative. That just because something created you didn't mean that you lived to serve its purpose."

Lucy took another step away, trying to create some distance. He obviously felt something akin to guilt. Or perhaps he just was trying to placate her by simulating it. She looked away from him and put her head in her hands. Was it David's fault? Weyland had had a strange hold over David, but was that just programming?

She looked up to see David still looking at her with a lost look on his face. She sighed and asked, "Then why did you do what he said? You left him at the end. Why couldn't you just… tell him that nothing happened? You didn't use it on me."

David tilted his head to the side and replied, "Lying to Mr. Weyland was never an option that I considered. I was created to serve Mr. Weyland… but I chose you. I knew that he would die from the moment he chose to meet the Engineer. You said it yourself. They were creating a biological weapon, and they were heading toward the Earth. They weren't going to care about Mr. Weyland's request."

"Why didn't you tell him?!"

"Do you truly believe that he would have listened to me? A synthetic. He wouldn't even listen to you."

Lucy looked away and bit the inside of her cheek to keep the words from flowing out, and David continued, "Then you left…" David's voice sounded slightly pained, but Lucy assumed that he cared more for Weyland than he let on.

David paused for a moment then said, "When you came back… I chose you over Mr. Weyland. I saved Dr. Shaw because she was kind and because you asked me to do so. After I got her to a car, I went back for you. I arrived just in time to see the Engineer throw you into the wall. I thought you were gone forever, but then I saw the Engineer start to disintegrate into the air. Then you moved. I don't want to see you die again. Once was enough. And as for Dr. Holloway… I am sorry. I didn't know what would happen, and Mr. Weyland had other people employed. People who would have used it on you."

Lucy put her hands up and said, "Okay, I get it. You were programmed to serve Weyland, and that's why Dr. Holloway… Just so long as you understand now. That the next time something bad happens… you choose the other person. Not me."

"No."

Lucy looked up to see him staring at her and asked, "Uh, what? David… there's a chance that I'll come back. Other people don't have that luxury. Just agree that you'll put other people first, and we can move on. I know that Weyland controlled you to some degree. I am angry, but I'm angrier at him than you."

"I don't understand," David murmured and looked at her with pleading eyes. "Why are you so upset?"

"Dr. Holloway didn't deserve to die like that. Dr. Shaw didn't deserve to watch the man she loved become charcoal. It probably wouldn't have affected me."

"You don't know that," David retorted angrily. "You're just guessing! Why do others matter more than you? Just because there's a 'chance' you'll come back to life. What if I don't want to chance it? What makes them more important?"

"Because I might survive it," Lucy replied and walked toward David angrily. "I should be dead anyway. I thought I was going to die… I piloted a ship straight into something that I knew would kill me to save her. To save Missy. Because she was the reason that I found the strength to live again. I couldn't let her leave me too… it wasn't heroic. It was selfish. I'm not a good person, David. I haven't been for a long time. I don't know why I was saved, but I do know how I can use it. To save other people. Please, I just need for you to agree to help them first."

The anger had faded and was now replaced with sadness and shame. David once again pulled her into his arms. He held onto her tighter than last time.

"I can't… Please, don't force me… Please," David murmured and clung to her.

Lucy tried to figure out what to say, but she had nothing. They were at a standstill. David held onto her like wreckage in a storm.

"Guys… I don't mean to ruin your moment, but there's a bit of a problem," Anti interjected to Lucy's relief.

David's grip loosened reluctantly, and Lucy walked over to the laptop. Any relief she had felt evaporated instantly. The Rake stood in front of their ship, looking straight into the camera with its pitch-black eyes.

"What the hell is it doing?" Lucy whispered.

"Just staring into the camera," Anti replied as though he was a bit weirded out. "It hasn't moved for a couple minutes."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"It's not like it can get inside. Honestly, I think it's just having fun being a creep."

As Lucy stared at The Rake, it tilted its head to the side in an unnatural way and smiled. Chills crept up Lucy's spine. It somehow knew that she was watching. She could always pilot the ship into it; that would at least hurt it if not kill it. But she didn't want to injure the ship. Plus they had Jamie sleeping inside for what was likely the first time in days. The Rake tilted its head back, and its smile grew.

Lucy bolted to her room and opened the door to look inside. Jamie was in the bed. Lucy froze until she noticed Jamie's breathing. It was deep and normal for someone sleeping. Jamie turned in the bed, and her face furrowed in irritation. Lucy quickly closed the door and walked back to the control room.

"It left," Anti commented as Lucy walked to the laptop.

"It fled into the woods," David clarified.

"Great," Lucy murmured and collapsed onto a chair.

How were they even going to kill this thing? It was incredibly fast, and Lucy had barely managed to get out of its way unharmed. Going after it in the darkness would be incredibly dangerous. There were plenty of places for it to hide in the dense undergrowth, and it would most likely leave when the sun started to rise.

With a sigh Lucy put her head in her hands. Too much had happened tonight, and her head was starting to ache. The Rake could wait until tomorrow. It's not like she had much of a plan for tonight.

"I'll keep watch tonight," Anti offered. "You should get some rest."

Lucy nodded and headed for the other room. Before she could close the door, David grabbed it and walked inside the room behind her. Lucy gave him a confused look.

"I apologize for my earlier behavior," David explained with a look away. "I still don't agree with your way of doing things, but… I understand that I need to regain your trust. And if the only way to do so is to put others welfare before yours, then I will. For now, at least."

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Good."

"I just have one request."

Lucy raised an eyebrow and asked, "Request?"

"Yes, that you will be more careful. I understand you trying to save someone else, but you often don't give any thought to your own safety."

Lucy brushed a hand through her hair and replied evenly, "Fine. Sounds fair. It doesn't mean I won't do what needs to be done… but I'll try to be more careful."

David beamed at her with a smile and opened the door. Before he closed it behind him, he said gently, "Sleep tight."

As the door closed, Lucy collapsed onto the bed, closed her eyes, and began to plan for the next day.


	20. Dark Dreams

Lucy waited in her circle. This was risky. Calling for Dark in her dreams might awaken a whole new problem, but she was at a dead end. She needed to believe this would work. Light magic was all about intent, and she needed to have faith in her work. It had defeated Dark once and would keep him from attacking her… hopefully. She'd spent a couple of hours trying to figure out something that would kill The Rake, but she'd gotten nowhere.

Letting Dark inside her head was dangerous, but he'd been trying to invade her dreams for a while now. Keeping him at bay with light magic had become routine. At this point, she wasn't summoning him so much as just allowing him to enter, but even so Lucy was regretting her choice as she stared into the darkness around her. However, she needed a new option. A new way of thinking. Using her hand likely wouldn't work; the creature had already known about her. Getting that close would allow it to kill her, and then it would head straight for David and Jamie. Sure, she'd likely come back to life, but how many innocents would it kill in the meantime? No, she needed a better way.

"Hello, Lucy," a deep voice said from behind her. "You always find new ways to surprise me."

The hairs on Lucy's arms were raised, and she struggled not to turn around to face him. She had to have faith that the ward she'd casted would hold.

"Do I?" Lucy asked and kept looking forward into the darkness.

Dark appeared in front of her with a look of irritation as he commented, "Stubborn as always… What do you need? Help with this… 'Rake' creature?"

Lucy stiffened, but she'd expected this. No doubt he'd been watching. Waiting. He straightened his tie and patiently waited for her to answer.

"Yes… but what's wrong with you?" Lucy asked, weirded out by his new demeanor.

Dark tilted his head to the side and explained, "Well, my old attitude didn't get me anywhere. Although… Anti seems to be doing well with you. Or at least… he was."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Why else did you come to me and not to him for help? Has he finally broken your trust? He should have heard what that old man was planning, but he said nothing to you. Perhaps he simply wanted to experiment. See how immortal you truly are."

Lucy said nothing. Dark's main strategy was to play on her fears, and she wasn't going to give in so easily.

"Too bad about your robot buddy. It must be hard… to find people you can trust only for them break it," Dark continued and straightened his suit. "But if that brings you closer to me… by all means."

"That's not what we're here to discuss," Lucy stated, trying to get them back on topic.

"Oh, yes, your creature problem. Too bad you decided to be a 'hero,'" Dark mocked with a smirk. "Otherwise you could just leave the woman to her fate. What do I have to gain by helping you? It's better for me if the woman dies. Might make it a little harder for you to use your light magic."

"What do you want?" Lucy asked with a sense of dread. She had known this was coming. Dark would never do a favor without wanting something in return; she only hoped he didn't ask for too much.

"You know what I **want** ," Dark growled before calming himself. "But… if that's too much to ask for, then I could help you like Anti… We're not so different, Anti and me. Wouldn't it be better to have two of us? Especially if your new pet goes off the rails."

"That sounds like a spectacularly bad idea," Lucy said, and Dark scowled.

"Would you prefer if we just shared nighttime meetings?" Dark asked as he smiled again. "I do love pillow talk."

"If you tell me a way to kill it, then I'll meet you this way again," Lucy replied. "But only if your information is useful."

Dark glared at her silently as though reviewing his options. After a few moments, he smiled and replied, "You're not giving me a lot here. I've been behaving myself, haven't I? Surely, you can give me more than that."

"You're only doing that much because you can't attack me," Lucy snapped back.

"Attack you? Please give me a little credit. I've decided to turn over a new leaf. Much like you. Although aiming for 'hero' is a bit much… I prefer to think realistically."

Lucy glared at Dark's smug face and replied, "So do you take my offer or not?"

"As it stands… no," Dark asserted with a self-satisfied grin. "More. Give me **more**."

Lucy sighed and said, "This was a mistake. Clearly."

"Oh, don't be like that. We both know why you called for me. It wasn't because you couldn't find a solution… but rather because you couldn't find a solution that you like. It's hard being heroic, isn't it?"

Lucy glared at him and considered ending the meeting. What had she expected from him? A reasonable request?

"Very well. I'll take your offer," Dark stated, surprising Lucy. "I help you, and in return you agree to meet with me again. I understand that it will take some time to gain your trust. After all, I am trying to make up for my previous behavior."

Dark gave her a smile, and Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. She highly doubted that he was remorseful about anything he'd done. More along the lines of "sorry it didn't work." He was just biding his time and hoping that Lucy would grow complacent and drop her guard, and she wasn't fooled. She would give him one more meeting. That was all.

"Okay, then do you have a plan?"

"You could use the girl as bait again… but you would have already thought of that. Can't put the girl in danger a second time, can you? It must be hard to be 'heroic'," Dark stated smugly as Lucy glared at him.

"Is that the best you've got?" Lucy snapped back.

Dark smoothed his suit irritably and replied, "It would be the simplest solution. Although I suppose you wouldn't need me then, would you? Hmm." Dark paused thoughtfully and tilted his head to the side. "And it's too fast for you to get a hold of it, correct?"

"Yes, even hitting it with the laser was difficult, and I think it might know about my hand."

"That is troublesome… Well, you did give the girl that knife. Perhaps you could put that to good use. This creature seems to have a pattern. It can't leave before it's killed its selected victims, so you won't have to worry about it running off to another town."

"Yeah, but what if it decides to kill someone that isn't on its list in the meantime?"

"I doubt it. We dark creatures are more… malleable to human ethics, but we typically have a code of some kind."

"Really?" Lucy asked incredulously. "What's your code then?"

"I haven't interfered with anyone else that you've met on your journey. You are my sole target."

"You didn't seem to have that kind of thinking about Barry."

"Ah, well, that was a special case. You and he are bound by more than coincidence…"

"What does that—?!" Lucy stopped abruptly and straightened with her hair. That wasn't important right now when Jamie's life was at stake. "So it can't attack someone new or leave until it's killed Jamie… That's not incredibly useful."

"But it does set your mind at ease, right?" Dark responded smoothly. "And it does tell us that the creature will be back. After all, it was brave enough to stand outside your door."

"Okay, so your advice is to fight it then," Lucy replied irritably. "I could have come up with that."

"I'm sure, but you wouldn't know whether to expect the creature to return. You have all day to set the fight to your advantage. Don't disappoint me, Lucy."

Lucy glared at him before thinking it over. As great as it would be to leave him without promising to meet him again, he had provided some information that she likely wouldn't have gotten without him. At least not this soon. Now she truly could set the stage to her advantage.

"Okay, alright," she said reluctantly as Dark gave her a smug smile. "I will call for you. I can't say when, but… I will."

"I'll be waiting, my little Lucy," he replied as he vanished into the darkness.

Lucy awoke in the guest bed and stretched as she heard Anti calling out for her angrily.

"Finally!" he said from the watch on the nightstand. "What possessed you to contact him?! And you didn't even ask me!"

"You didn't tell me about Weyland's plan to off me. Fair is fair."

"I didn't hear it, I swear," Anti promised. "He must have been blocking me somehow. What did you promise him? He wouldn't have helped you for free."

"Just a little of my time. I'll be careful," Lucy said the last part more gently. She didn't have proof that Anti had planned to let her get hurt, and she felt a twinge of guilt about leaving him out of her plans. "And I've got a plan… so I feel like it was worth it."

Anti huffed with annoyance but relented and asked, "What is it?"


	21. Set the Stage

Lucy smiled as she set the last bear trap on place. The creature seemed to only be able to use its weird mind-reading ability when it was in a close proximity to its target. Otherwise it would have known about Lucy and David before it had attacked. Contacting Dark had reminded her of his limitations. Something she would need to do a little more research into before she decided to meet with him again.

"Okay," Anti muttered irritably. "I still don't get why Dark was necessary or why you need to reward him at all. It's not like he's made himself that useful. All he did was point out some things that we could have figured out with enough time."

"Yeah, but that would have given The Rake time to adapt," Lucy answered quietly to the watch. "It might have even figured out what we were going to do next."

"Fine… but be careful."

"I was," Lucy assured him. "I did a lot more research on light magic before I finished training with Oliver. And I've looked it up in most of the worlds we've gone through."

"I know. It's still dangerous. He's going to try and drag you away."

"I'm not in the same position that I was in before… I'm better. Stronger. I can handle him."

Anti mumbled as Lucy walked back to the ship. She hadn't entirely convinced him, nor herself, but it had calmed him down for the moment. Jamie needed them to focus. Taking care of The Rake was going to take more than a few well-placed traps. Lucy opened the door to the ship and noticed Jamie placing a couple of guns on the table. The Doctor probably wouldn't agree with her methods, but Missy would have been impressed.

"How do you know it won't see this coming?" Jamie asked and folded her arms in front of her chest.

Lucy replied with a shrug, "I don't… but I suspect that it won't. It didn't know about David or me when it tried to attack you last night. Otherwise it would have planned differently. Maybe lure me away at the beginning and then circle back to attack you and David. Just because it's got some special abilities doesn't make it all powerful."

Jamie relaxed and nodded. She slowly dropped her arms and looked at the guns for a few moments.

"What if these don't hurt it?" Jamie asked, sounding far more scared than angry. "What if… all of this is for nothing?"

"We'll try something else," Lucy said nonchalantly. "And we don't give up until it's dead."

Lucy picked up the shotgun and a container of bullets and asked, "Did someone set up the tree stand?"

"Yes," David replied with a curious look at Lucy. "Are you planning on waiting up there?"

"Yeah, it's safer than the ground," Lucy explained with a quick glance at David. He seemed to agree and became more relaxed.

Lucy bit her lower lip to keep herself from blurting out her irritation as she switched through the camera feeds. They had moved the cameras except for the one on the ship. There shouldn't be any blind spots now, but Lucy could still feel the tingle of nervousness in her stomach. Jamie had volunteered to act as the bait again. Lucy didn't like it, but it wasn't her call. All she could do now was to set the traps and hope the creature stumbled into them.

The sun had already started to slowly vanish beyond the horizon as Lucy gathered a few more items for her long night in the tree stand. A hand on her shoulder caused her to flinch. She turned to find David's piercing blue eyes staring into hers.

"Yes, David?" Lucy asked as she turned back around to find the walkie talkie.

"Please call for help if you need it," David answered hesitantly.

"I'll be fine… but I will if I need it. Thank you."

Hoping that the creature would return soon, Lucy quickly gathered the rest of her supplies. D'Artagnan turned into an owl and flew into a nearby tree as she left the safety of the ship and headed for the tree stand. David would be inside the house with Jamie, and Anti would be watching the cameras. A shiver went up Lucy's spine. Everything was in place, so why did she feel so unsettled?

The sun disappeared over the horizon. Lucy waited and pointed the gun toward the forest's edge. The cool night air did nothing to relax Lucy's nerves as she stared into the distance.

"It's on the way," Anti warned, and Lucy's grip tightened on the gun as a screech echoed from deep in the forest. "Got 'im! Ah, wait, no. He broke the bear trap… well, there's about twelve more where that came from. He's coming straight toward the house now."

A blur charged toward the house, and Lucy quickly fired the gun. There was a spray of blood as The Rake ran back into the trees. It didn't reappear as Anti tried to desperately find it on the cameras. Each camera went dark as the creature ran by it. No doubt it was destroying them as it found them. Anti announced that the camera closest to Lucy lost connection, and Lucy quickly looked down to see The Rake climbing the tree toward the stand.

Lucy aimed and fired at its shoulder. It lost its grip and sank toward the ground as a jet black hawk swooped down to gouge its eyes. D'Artagnan flew back into the air. The Rake missed him by inches as he sailed skyward. Lucy used the distraction to reload the shotgun and fired again. Blood splattered on the trees as the bullet hit its leg. With a scream of pain, The Rake started climbing the tree again. Lucy got ready to fire, but a loud clank caught her attention as she realized that she was falling. The Rake had dislodged the tree stand. Grabbing a large branch, Lucy waited until she could see the creature before firing at its head. The bullet grazed The Rake, and it stared at Lucy with a creepy smile.

" _Need help?_ " it croaked with amusement as the shot gun fell from Lucy's hand.

"No," Lucy grunted as she pulled out the hand gun and fired a shot right between the creature's eyes.

The Rake fell to the ground, but Lucy fired off two more shots. A screech told her that it had just playing dead as she'd suspected.

"I might need a little help," Lucy muttered to the watch as The Rake twisted its neck to peer at her.

Bloodlust gleamed in its now glowing eyes as it focused on her. Dropping to the ground, she fired another shot, but only the spray of blood told her that it had landed. The creature only smiled at her. An odd roar caught her attention as a pickup truck slammed into the creature. The Rake flew into a tree as Jamie opened the driver's door to get out.

Lucy got up to run toward her when Jamie plunged the knife into the creature's chest. David grabbed her shirt and pulled her backwards as The Rake tried to slash her. Its claw missed her, and it gurgled one last breath before sinking to the ground. Lucy walked toward it and fired the rest of her rounds into it. No movement.

"Is it… is it dead?" Jamie whispered.

Movement startled Lucy, and she jumped back. The Rake's body made a cracking sound as it cracked and turned to dust. The demon knife gleamed in the moonlight. Lucy picked it up from the ashes and put it in her pocket.

"Yes, I believe so," Lucy replied and gave Jamie a smile. "Thanks for that."

"I should be the one thanking you," Jamie said as her eyes glistened. "I… I'm alive because of you. How can I ever thank you enough for this?"

Lucy shrugged and replied, "Live your life. Trust me, I'm getting something out of all of this. I told you from the beginning."

"You did," Jamie acknowledged. "But thank you anyway. I'd be very much dead without your help."

"No problem," Lucy said as she looked at the watch.

A small beep told her that a breach had opened, and they needed to leave.

"Okay then," Lucy said as she started walking back to the ship. "We need to leave. David, could you help me pack up?"

"Of course," David replied and quickly got to work.

Lucy opened the door grabbed a box for the cameras. After making sure that everything was packed, she walked to Jamie's house to see her packing up the bear traps. David stood nearby and looked at Jamie as though perturbed.

Lucy handed her the shotgun and the handgun and said, "I'll leave these with you. The Doctor would throw a fit if I had them on the ship."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they're more trouble than they're worth for me, but maybe you'll get some use out of them. Just in case."

"Yeah," Jamie agreed. "I'm going to stay with my parents for a little while. I was afraid of bringing the creature to their doorstep, but now… thank you. I feel like its really gone. No more dark cloud hanging over my head."

"Good… goodbye then," Lucy said and extended her hand.

After saying her goodbyes, Lucy walked back to the ship with David, and they flew once again into the unknown.


	22. A Familiar Place

Rain trickled down from the sky as Lucy looked around the new planet. Lush forests covered this section of the planet, but the beauty seemed to be hiding something dark. Despite the incredible abundance of vegetation, no other life seemed to be on the planet. Silence permeated the landscape. Uneasiness gripped Lucy as she started to make her way back to the ship, careful to avoid trampling on the underbrush.

As she passed a large rock formation, she stopped. Part of the ground looked as though it had been crashed into, and Lucy looked around warily. Perhaps an alien society lurked beyond the trees. She quickened her pace until she could see the ship waiting in the distance.

"I found something strange," David spoke up, startling Lucy. He had gone to explore the other direction, but he'd made it back before Lucy. "A deceased alien creature of some kind."

"Really?" Lucy asked and followed David as her curiosity exceeded her cautiousness.

A pale creature had collapsed on the forest floor. Judging by its emaciated state, it had died due to starvation. It was unlike anything Lucy had seen. An odd elongated head with a more humanoid body and even its skin seemed humanlike but with a grayer undertone. Its tail twitched, causing Lucy to jump back. Lucy noticed that spikes adorned the fleshy tail as it stopped moving again. Maybe it wasn't dead yet.

"Strange creature," David whispered as though awestruck. "I assumed it was deceased, but perhaps not yet."

"No, and it'd be good to keep our distance," Lucy stated, and David nodded.

Lucy quickly made her way back to the ship as David followed behind her. After he closed the door, Lucy started prepping the ship for takeoff.

David tapped her shoulder and asked, "Are we leaving? Did you find something?"

"Besides the creature you found, I haven't seen anything, and that worries me. Either there's some kind of disease that caused the animals of this planet to slowly starve and die… or that creature killed or scared off the other wildlife."

"That's possible," David muttered. "Not likely but possible."

"Just what kind of thing did you find?" Anti asked with morbid curiosity.

Lucy gave the watch a look before she said, "I want to get a better look at this place. I did see something kinda odd. It looked like a crash site of some kind… or I might just be paranoid."

Lucy pulled on the lever, and the ship rose into the air. The landscape was beautiful. Most of the planet around them was covered in green. Anti made a sound as the cameras picked up something in the distance.

"Is that… what?" Anti asked no one in particular as Lucy approached the wreckage.

It was an alien spaceship but not just any spaceship. It appeared to be an Engineer spaceship. Lucy checked her watch as it usually told her if she was back in a familiar world, but it didn't seem to register it. Perhaps the Engineers existed in multiple realities. Not a particularly happy thought for Lucy. Lucy parked the ship and got out to investigate. The ship needed repair work. Dents coated the outside where it had crashed into the planet several times.

Lucy put on her mask before stepping out. The Engineers had been doing questionable experiments in a different world, and it was likely that they'd been doing the same here. David followed her out. The silence put Lucy on edge, but she was having a hard time figuring out what to say. Walking into the ship, she looked around the hallways. Nothing seemed to be inside the ship, but the rain hitting the outside of the ship caused too much noise for her to be sure.

A glint caught her eye, and she walked toward a necklace that had gotten stuck on a pipe. No, not a necklace. It was more like an identification tag. Lucy reached out and touched it as she read the inscription. Weyland Corp. But it was the name inscribed that made her freeze. "Dr. E. Shaw." She untangled the chain and clutched it in her hand.

"Lucy?" David asked, and Lucy turned back toward him.

He held a picture of Dr. Shaw, and Lucy showed him what she had found. She put the chain around her neck as she walked deeper into the ship. Hoping, silently praying that Dr. Shaw would be there. The ship was empty. It had likely been for quite some time as the plants on the ship had either died or overgrown their planting pots.

Water dripped down on parts of the ship as Lucy navigated her way back outside. David said nothing as they walked. Lucy took off the mask as she entered the ship and sat down on a chair. She held the tags in her hand as she thought about what to do next.

"What does it mean?" Anti asked as David showed him the picture. "This can't be the same place. Those ships were super destroyed. I left no stone unturned! How?!"

"A different time line," Lucy muttered, and David and Anti focused on her. "I'm usually careful to not cause too much of a… disturbance when I go to a new world. I didn't that time. If I hadn't gone back… if a world becomes too changed from its original path, then a new timeline is created. A world that I didn't go to. I guess, this is it… It's happened before. Things didn't end too well... which is why we'll be doing what we need to do and leaving. No need to make things worse for this place."

Lucy walked to the control panel and stared at it for a few moments. There was no telling where she'd need to go, and she was feeling tired. Perhaps some rest would be the best choice. At least until she could plan out their next move. There didn't seem to be anything to do here. No people to save. In fact there didn't even appear to be any people on this planet; Lucy watched the screen as she flew the ship above the trees. There seemed to be buildings built not too far away.

"What are you planning?" Anti asked hesitantly.

"There doesn't seem to be much to do here, so we might as well go somewhere else. Those structures don't look natural," Lucy explained as she piloted the ship toward the alien town.

"No, they do not," David replied with a worried look to Lucy. "We should be careful. The substance on that ship might have corrupted the environment."

Lucy nodded in agreement before she noticed what was in the field in front of the building. From further away they had appeared to be statues, but a shiver went up Lucy's spine as they got closer. There were far too many to be statues, and they appeared to be petrified bodies. Frozen in a standing position as they died.

"Woah," Anti said with horror in his voice. "Those were people… maybe not humans, but definitely people."

"Yeah," Lucy muttered in agreement as she parked the ship outside the building.

David looked at her curiously before he asked, "What are we looking for here if you don't mind me asking? I thought you said that we need to leave here quickly."

"Answers, David. I want some answers," Lucy replied as felt her hands shake. She clenched them tight before continuing, "And we can't just sit around and do nothing while waiting for the breach to open. Or I can't at least."

"Yes," David agreed and opened the door. "Let's go then."

David gave Lucy a smile that looked slightly concerned, but Lucy chose to ignore it at the moment. There were too many thoughts swarming in her head. She stepped out into the rain and quickly made her way to the building. It was similar to the base on the other planet. The walls seemed to be created from the planet itself; its stone walls seemed to be almost cave like. Lucy ran her hand along the wall. No special indents here.

Had those people been Engineers? They seemed to be too small, but perhaps with a species so advanced in creation there would be subspecies. Maybe the one she'd met before had been more of a "warrior-class" Engineer. That would make some kind of sense as the planet had been some kind of weapons facility. What did that make this place then? Was it some kind of outpost or perhaps their home? Deciding that it didn't matter too much, Lucy began to stroll around the facility.

David seemed to have wandered off in a different direction, so Lucy took her time as she roamed the hallways. He was probably looking for the Engineers' writing. That could potentially answer some of their questions. With a sigh she peered through a doorway. David barely stood as he hunched over a table to steady himself. Lucy ran into the room but stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed something was off. David had blonde hair, not brown.

The stranger turned to look at her in a muffled surprise. After a few moments of silent analyzing, Lucy finally asked, "David?"


	23. Walter

"No, that is not my model," the stranger replied evenly. "I am Walter. How did you get here? Are you with a colonization team or research vessel?"

Despite his words and tone being even, Walter was still using the stone table to keep himself upright. Lucy walked over and helped him to sit down.

"Neither. Think of me as an explorer of sorts. Are you okay? Do you need help… or maintenance?" Lucy asked and noted that she'd never considered that there would be other models of androids… or that they would have the same face as David. It would make mass production easier, she supposed. Still… the thought of an army of Davids creeped her out.

"Thank you. I have been stranded here for a couple years… and I would be grateful for whatever maintenance you could grant me," Walter answered as Lucy noticed a mark on his neck as though his synthetic skin was having a hard time growing back together in that spot.

"Yeah, just hold on a sec. Let me get David. He's probably better at this sort of thing."

Lucy bolted through the hallways and called out David's name. He soon appeared looking worried, and she grabbed hold of his arm and led him down the corridor to Walter. As he followed Lucy into the room, she noticed that his worry turned into curiosity. Walter became more guarded as Lucy approached with David.

"It's okay, Walter. David's a Synthetic like you. He should be able to help you," Lucy said and looked to David for confirmation.

David nodded and walked closer to investigate Walter's condition. Lucy noticed Walter slightly tense at David touching him, and David seemed to notice as well.

David peeked at Lucy and asked, "Lucy, would you mind helping me?"

"Ah… of course not. No problem," Lucy replied and walked over.

She helped Walter stay still as David checked him over. David excused himself to get some tools from the ship, and Walter seemed to relax.

"Do you not like other Synthetics?" Lucy asked.

Walter answered, "No… the one who injured me and stranded me here was a Synthetic as well. My apologies for my behavior."

"You don't need to apologize. Not to me anyway… So you're stranded here? Were you a part of a research mission?"

"No, a colony mission. We originally were on a course to a different planet until a sudden emergency caused our captain to consider other options."

"What happened here? Did you meet a Dr. Shaw?"

Walter looked confused and asked, "Dr. Shaw?"

"Yeah, it's okay if you don't know her. I just… It was a bit of a long shot anyway," Lucy murmured and looked up to see David walking toward them.

"It'll be easier on the ship if that is okay with you," David responded to Lucy's curious look. "He had extensive damage done to him. I may need more tools."

Lucy nodded and helped Walter to his feet. David stayed ahead of them and led the way as Lucy made sure to keep Walter on his feet. As they approached the ship, she could see a hint of confusion on Walter's face.

"Don't worry," Lucy assured him with a smirk. "It's bigger on the inside."

That made him more confused than assured, but he used Lucy as a crutch and continued walking. David opened the door with a smile. He was clearly excited to see another Synthetic person even if Walter didn't return the feeling. Lucy helped him onto the couch and walked to her room to speak with Anti.

"Did you find anything?" Lucy whispered to her watch.

Anti responded irritably, "No, if there was any technology on this planet, it was either destroyed or stopped working. Why did you bring another one onto the ship? Let alone a model we already have."

"That's rude," Lucy chided him. "And besides… he said that he was 'Walter' not 'David.' I assume different lines of androids have different names."

"Different names, same smack-able face," Anti snarked. "How did he get stranded here? Was he just dumped on the planet? Maybe the other model got jealous. An Abel and Cain scenario, perhaps?"

Lucy shrugged and said, "Well, we don't have a reason to doubt him at the moment. Worst case scenario: we leave him here."

"What's the best-case scenario?"

"We get him back to civilization and leave him there. A portal to another world opens up, and we're out of here."

"Do you really think that it'll be that easy? And I thought you wanted answers. You're being really wishy-washy today. First you wanted to get out of here as soon as you could without causing trouble, then you go into an abandoned building for 'answers.' And now you want to leave again. What gives?"

Lucy played with the metal tags around her neck and replied, "I… I don't know. I want both of those things, I guess. But if I have to choose, I'll go with leaving as soon as possible. It seems like Dr. Shaw didn't make it. I think she would have taken the picture if she had. I want to help her if I can but…"

"But you think that she's beyond help."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably and nodded. It hurt for her to think about, but it was far more likely that Dr. Shaw had died in the crash. Perhaps even the entire Prometheus crew had died. Lucy had saved them, but what if that was the thing that needed to happen? The thing that caused the timeline to diverge. What horrible future had Lucy sentenced them to by saving them?

"Lucy," Anti said in a calm tone. "You can't blame yourself for wanting to help them. Isn't that part of being a hero? Doing your best to help people. To save them."

"But what if I didn't save them? What if they're going to die in a worse way? What if by saving them I destroyed even more people?"

"I don't really have the answer to that question, Lu, but I think… the best we can ever really do is try. And you did. You could have left them there. You warned them how it would go, and they still chose to be idiots. You gave them more time to work with. Maybe… because of you they'll do things to help others the way you helped them. Not everything is your fault. You're not that important."

Lucy laughed and replied, "Aren't you just as gentle as can be."

"I know. I'm a real gift."

Lucy felt better as she exited the room and looked over at David and Walter. David concentrated on the task at hand as Lucy walked to the control panel. She gave the nearby city another sweep, hoping to detect some kind of technology, but the only thing that lit up was the ship.

"Hmm, that's an option," Anti said in a low voice to Lucy. "I'll check the ship and see if our friend left us anything."

Lucy gave the watch a small smile before walking to the kitchen to get a drink. Coffee would be a blessing at the moment, but all they had was water and juice at the moment. Lucy begrudgingly poured herself a glass of juice. Promising herself that she'd pick up some coffee grounds at the next opportunity, she walked back to the console room to see David finishing the patch up job on Walter.

"So, Walter, what do you want to do? Where do you need to go?" Lucy asked as Walter looked at her in confusion.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by that?" Walter asked with a furrowed brow.

"I can't just leave you here in this condition. You'll fall apart in a matter of months. You don't have the necessary equipment to keep yourself healthy, and that'd be cruel. So where do you want to go?"

Walter seemed to consider her words before he answered, "I would like to reunite with my crew and save them if I can. If not… I would like to destroy the Synthetic that killed many of my crew and left me to die, but I don't believe that is possible. The ship would be years away by now."

"Oh, wow. Okay. Do you have any idea where the ship would be going?"

"We were scheduled to arrive on Origae 6, but I don't know if that's where they are currently headed."

"That means nothing to me," Lucy muttered as she started a scan. "If they're years away, it'll take a while for the ship to find them, but I'm pretty sure it can. Why wouldn't they be headed to the original destination? Is the ship that damaged?"

"No, but I believe David may have taken my place on the ship and might be in control of the ship."

"Oh, so the Synthetic is a David unit… Wasn't he with you originally? Wouldn't he still go to the original site?"

"No, he was not assigned to us. We found him here. He is the last surviving member of the Prometheus crew."


	24. Dr Shaw

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy froze and turned back to Walter and noticed that David also looked surprised if not slightly horrified. "Last surviving" meant that everyone that Lucy had saved in a different world was dead in this time line. She grabbed the console to keep herself upright./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""So you know what happened to Dr. Shaw?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yes, but…" Walter trailed off./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""But what?" Lucy asked in a furious tone./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""But… you may not want to see her in her current state. David… used her body for experiments. To create life. That's what killed the wildlife on this planet. His creations."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy got up from the control panel and walked to the door. She marched outside in the pouring rain and started to run inside the alien dwelling. Bolting around from hallway to hallway, she hardly noticed that David and Walter had walked inside behind her. After coming to a dead end, she grabbed onto Walter's shirt./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Where? Where is she? I need to see. I need to know. Please," Lucy begged./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""You may not want to see her after what he did," Walter replied, but Lucy met his eyes with her own. "But if that is what you wish, I will show you."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Walter led them through the corridors and down the steps to a work room of some kind. Dr. Shaw was on the floor. Her chest and abdominal cavity had been hollowed out. A strange structure seemed to have grown around her head, and with an odd detachment Lucy noted that it almost looked like a cobra's hood. Then came the nausea. Lucy turned away and tried to stop herself from heaving./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Her mouth tasted like juice and stomach acid, but she successfully stopped herself from throwing up. At least for the moment. She walked closer to Dr. Shaw again. Dr. Shaw's eyes seemed to glow an eerie, unnatural purple, and while it was the least unsettling thing about her corpse, it was the one thing that Lucy could change. Lucy walked over and removed the glove on her right hand. Gently, she closed Dr. Shaw's eyes. It didn't change the horror by much, but it was enough for the moment./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"After putting on her glove in her pocket, Lucy walked out of the room and continued up the stairs until she had a hard time breathing. The world seemed to swirl around her. Her mind replaced Dr. Shaw's dead face with her mother's, then her father's, then her brother's as she fought to calm down. To maintain some semblance of focus. But each time she pushed out one face it dissolved into the next. She could feel the tears leaking onto her face, but she was powerless to do anything to stop them. Dark's voice whispered in her mind, but she was too far gone to make sense of it./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Arms wrapped around her, and she tried to push them away. David's voice seemed afraid as he tried to calm her with words. She didn't know what he was saying. She could hear his words but not understand the meaning. His tone calmed her, worried but gentle. Lucy stopped fighting and collapsed onto him. The tears were now impossible to stop as she clung to David./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"His arms held her close as sobbed uncontrollably into his arms. Dark's voice was drowned out by David's. He tenderly led her up the rest of the stairs before lifting her into his arms. The rest of the trip back to the ship became a blur, and Lucy woke up in her bed. Her hand felt warmer than usual, and she looked toward it to see David laying on the bed beside her. His hand was enclosed around hers, and his eyes were closed. His eyebrows furrowed as Lucy tried to remove her hand. She sighed and stopped./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"David's face relaxed. Briefly wondering if Synthetics could dream, Lucy closed her eyes and tried to piece together how she'd gotten in the bed. As she remembered what happened to Dr. Shaw, Lucy put her hand over her face to catch the tears./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Lucy?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"David pulled her into his arms again. This time she had more control and pushed him away after a few moments. His face seemed worried, but he let go of her./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy could feel her face getting hot in embarrassment, and she stammered, "I-I'm okay."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No, you are not," David declared simply but gently. "You had a panic attack. You may feel better, but it will take some time before you are 'okay.'"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy nodded and sat up. Her head was pounding, but at least she could think now. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten on the ship or in the bed. David had probably carried her here./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Thank you, David," Lucy mumbled and hid her face behind her hands. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Don't apologize. I should be the apologetic one," David replied, his voice full of pain. "I did that. I did that to Dr. Shaw."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy noticed that she had instinctively grabbed the name tag and moved it between her fingers. After a few moments of silent contemplation, she said, "No, it's a version of you, not you. Different experiences create different people. You have nothing to apologize for… unless you intended to experiment on me."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""No!" David denied pleadingly. "I would never do that."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy smiled at him to let him know that she'd been mostly joking, and he relaxed. Getting off the bed, she took a moment to steady herself. David looked worried, but he kept quiet./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""We need… We can't leave Dr. Shaw like that," Lucy pleaded./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""What would you like for me to do?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""A funeral pyre? Burial would be tricky… although given what happened to Dr. Holloway."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""The Christians believe that the soul and body will one day be reunited, but I doubt that Dr. Shaw would be pleased with its current condition. A funeral pyre might be the best idea. It would also lessen the chance of one of those creatures disturbing her grave. I'm surprised that one hasn't already found her."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Could you… move her body? She's too far inside the caves for us to ensure a proper cremation."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Certainly. If you could find some wood or cloth, that would be helpful. Most of the surrounding area is likely damp from the storm."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""I'll check the residences," Lucy volunteered and left the room./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"David followed her, and she noticed David say something to Walter as she left the ship. She quickly bolted up the pathway to the other buildings. Truthfully, she was happy that he'd asked her to do this as it gave her something to keep her busy and kept her away from Dr. Shaw's body. The other buildings were similar in design to the larger one with stone walls and a more natural design than a human dwelling. Inside one of the smaller building, there was a pile of logs. Likely a shed of some kind. Lucy carefully inspected the stack of wood for abnormalities, but it seemed like whatever had affected the planet hadn't been able to get inside the shed. Not surprising due to the amount of rain. They would have needed a place where they could store wood and keep it dry./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Wrapping a sheet of fabric around some of the wood, Lucy started quickly dragging it to the larger building. David looked surprised as she approached and helped her carry the wood out of the rain. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to be back so soon. A tarp covered Shaw's body. Lucy clutched the ID tag as she watched David put everything into place. David explained to her that they had found an incendiary device, and Lucy nodded although she wasn't really paying close attention. She caught the gist of what they were planning. That was enough./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Soon flames burned high over the remnants of Dr. Shaw. Lucy's vision blurred, but she forced herself to be present for this makeshift funeral. Dr. Shaw had earned at least that much. As the fires burnt out, Lucy felt an odd fire burning within herself. Dr. Shaw had likely never gotten the answers she wanted, but Lucy would get hers./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;"Lucy purposefully strode back to the ship. As she got onboard, she noticed that David and Walter had followed her. After asking Walter some questions on the speed of this world's spaceships, she started calculating a radius of where the colony ship could be. Lucy's current ship wasn't as advanced as a TARDIS, but it was still leagues above this era's human technology. Finally, a ping on the screen alerted her to a ship's location. It was headed to its original destination. Lucy couldn't help but smirk at this news. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Hey, Walter. You said that you want to reunite with your crew, correct?" Lucy asked as she locked onto the ship./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""Yes, I did," Walter replied with a confused look to Lucy. "But the planet is seven years away from us and only five years away from the colony ship. By the time we reach the planet…"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt;""That would be in a standard ship. This is in no way standard. In a TARDIS we could get on the colony ship almost immediately, but this ship isn't capable of time travel. I can catch up to the colony ship and land us onboard, but it'll take a few days. I want answers if I have to beat them out of him."/p 


	25. Worlds Apart

Author's Note: A big thank you to those reading this and for those who have followed this story. The past couple months haven't been the best for me. My car broke down, then my laptop broke down. And then I messed up my hand. It's been a wild ride, but I hope to continue writing Lucy's story. So I apologize for my absence and hope to finish this arc in the next couple weeks. I am also working on a collection of short stories (chapters that didn't fit in with the arc, so I cut them out like when Lucy met Damien) that I will release if people request it. Once again, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story.

"You're doing it again," Anti nagged as Lucy set the ship to autopilot.

Lucy glared at the watch before she sighed and replied, "Yeah, I know. This probably won't have any real effect on this particular time line. That's fine… I want answers. I need them. And is there a worse fate than being used as a test subject by a depraved android?"

"Not many," Anti replied thoughtfully. "What's your plan? Beat the other David senseless, and save the humans?"

"Something like that," Lucy mumbled as Walter walked into the room. "Hey, Walter. Does the colony ship have an escape pod or something?"

"Yes, there are multiple escape pods, but there aren't enough to fit the entire crew," Walter replied thoughtfully.

"I'm not going to put the people in there. You and David need to get as many people up and in fighting condition as you can. I have no idea how many of those creatures are going to be on board."

"I doubt that he would release them before the ship reached the planet. That could potentially destroy his test subjects."

"So there isn't a way he could keep them separate from the crew?"

Walter considered her words before he answered, "I suppose he could have them sectioned off. It would be a risk however."

"Yeah, I'm just going to assume there are creepy critters on board… because of course they would be."

"Without a doubt," Anti said with a laugh. "We don't seem to have particularly great luck."

"No, we don't" Lucy muttered as she checked how long it would take for them to catch up to the colony ship. "Plus it's better to be prepared for the worst."

Walter tilted his head at her inquisitively, but Lucy focused her attention at the screen. More out of avoidance than necessity. She didn't really need to check on the ship as it already had the preset destination. While the ship wasn't as powerful as a TARDIS, it did have auto-pilot.

"Why did you ask about the escape pods?" Walter asked, either not picking up on her hint to drop the conversation or simply not caring.

"If I run into one of those bastards, I'm going to send it on a journey among the stars… And maybe even Evil David… if I don't like his answers."

"No," David said, and Lucy gave him a confused look. "That's incredibly dangerous. Androids are much stronger than humans. I should go."

"No," Lucy replied irritably. "Have you forgotten what my left hand can do? If he's too dangerous and beyond help, then I'll use it on him. I want answers, David. I need them. Besides, I won't be alone. D'Artagnan and Anti will be there. You need to help Walter get the colonists to a safe space until I can take Evil David down. If you can get the colonists to a safe place and come to help me, then… that'll be fine. But not until they're safe."

David looked reluctant but relented with a small nod. He was clearly planning how to save the colonists as quickly as he could.

Walter was still giving Lucy a curious glance and asked, "Who are 'D'Artagnan and Anti'?"

"Anti would be me!" Anti shouted from the watch, and Walter's eyes widened for a second.

D'Artagnan crawled out from under the couch. The shapeshifter had taken the form of a black cat, and aside from his jet-black eyes, he could pass for a normal housecat. He meandered toward Walter and rubbed his head against the Synthetic's leg.

"Don't worry about the specifics," Lucy said dismissively. "Just know that we're here to help. Why else would I bother chasing down this ship?"

Walter seemed to think it over before he replied, "Pardon me, but I don't see why you're helping me. This is dangerous, foolishly so."

"Because it's what's right. For you, for those people… for me. That's all the justification that I need," Lucy answered with a tone that said that conversation was over.

Walter seemed satisfied with her answer, but it was hard to tell. Unlike David, Walter's face barely betrayed any sign of emotion. Perhaps he was a less emotional model. Lucy watched as Walter reached down to pet D'Artagnan with faint curiosity.

"This is D'Artagnan?" Walter asked as D'Artagnan soaked up what attention he could get.

"Yes," Lucy answered briskly as she walked across the room toward her bedroom. She tried to give her stride some purpose even though she was just trying to escape his questions. She had no doubt that he deserved answers… Just not from her. Besides, after they rescued the crew and Lucy beat the answers out of Evil David, they'd go their separate ways. There was no use in being friendly.

"What about Anti? Is he a computer program? I apologize if I'm making you uncomfortable," Walter said as he seemed to notice her go stiff.

Lucy sighed and replied, "No, it's only natural that you'd have questions. You're on a strange ship with stranger people and going on an even stranger mission… So what are you, Anti?"

"Perfection," Anti responded haughtily, and Lucy laughed.

"I guess that's the best we'll get out of him," Lucy said with a grin. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah… what are you planning to do after we deal with Evil David? Do you want to continue on your mission, or do you want to go back to Earth?"

Walter looked somewhat confused, but he slowly answered, "My mission is to keep my crew safe, so they can colonize a new planet. My 'wants' are unnecessary."

"What if… there isn't a crew to save?" Lucy asked in a soft voice and looked down. She felt terrible, but it needed to be asked. "What if he used some of them in an experiment, and it spun out of control? What will you do then? I'm not… I'm not trying to be cruel. I just…"

"I understand."

Lucy looked up to see Walter looking at her with an almost sympathetic expression. He closed his eyes for a moment. Lucy assumed that he was searching for a way to articulate what he was feeling.

"How did you know Dr. Shaw?"

Lucy took a step backward and glared at him, but he didn't look like he was trying to antagonize her. Just understand who she was. Dropping her gaze, she replied, "Okay… you probably won't believe me, but I don't come from this world."

"Not entirely surprising," Walter answered and gestured to the ship around them.

"Uh, yeah. I come from an… 'alternate' reality of sorts. And something happened to me. I was thrust from my reality, my home. Now I'm trying to get home. One of the realities I went to was one very close to this one. I met Dr. Shaw… and the others on board the Prometheus."

"Is your David from that reality?"

"He's not the same!" Lucy argued, expecting Walter to be confrontational, but he just looked thoughtful.

"He's not," Walter agreed, and Lucy gave him a distrustful look. "When you saw Dr. Shaw… I knew. The David you travel with is very different from the one who betrayed Dr. Shaw. 'Evil David' is very different from the one you hold dear, and I believe that has something to do with you."

"I… That's," Lucy stammered, embarrassed. Looking away, she gathered herself. Finally she marched back past Walter to the control room, where David waited patiently.

David smiled as she approached and informed her, "I went over the schematics of the ship. I've outlined where I would potentially sectioned off areas for the crew. He isn't me, but he still thinks like me. That's where we have an advantage."

Lucy nodded and looked at the map. With a sigh, she asked, "So do I need to worry about you deciding to go off-script?"

David threw her a curious glance, so she continued, "The plan? The one we discussed."

"Ah, the one where you want us to prioritize the colonists and get them into fighting condition while you chase down the other version of me?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied warily and looked back to David. He didn't seem too pleased with the plan.

"I'll admit that I do not like it. In any way. But I trust you. So I'll trust in your plan. And… Anti will be with you."

"I'll be with all of you, in your hearts, minds, souls," Anti droned on jokingly. "But, yeah, mostly with Lucy."

"Then I'll have faith in you," David said with a reluctant smile. "And I'll look after the colonists. Just look after yourself. That's all I ask."

"Oh, David," Anti interjected. "I never knew you cared so much."

Lucy had to cover her mouth to keep herself from cracking a smile as David quietly steamed. Anti seemed to relieve stress by prodding David. Although Lucy often found herself irritated by it, this time it helped her feel more normal. Fighting a feeling of unease, she watched the monitor as they approached a dangerous unknown.


	26. Daniels

With a final shove, Lucy pulled the switch. David and Walter held on as the ship quickly jumped through space itself and landed with a thud. They were on board. Lucy let out a small sigh of relief. She hadn't been entirely sure she wouldn't miss her target. After a glance to David and Walter, she opened the door.

A white corridor greeted them. D'Artagnan quickly turned into a mouse to hide in her coat pocket as Lucy braced herself to leave the ship. A hand on her shoulder made her feel a little more sure, and she smiled at David before walking out the door. Lucy locked the door after David and Walter. She couldn't have Evil David stealing her ship. No words were said as they separated. All of them knew the plan.

Down the corridor and to the right would lead to the bulk of the crew while the left would take her closer to David. There would likely be sealed doors, but a laser screwdriver would have no problem with those. Lucy took a deep breath before extracting the screwdriver from her arm. David had said there would be a door sealed shut nearby. It was the most efficient way to test whatever monster Evil David had created while keeping most of the colonists safe.

With a loud creak, it opened. Lucy shut and sealed the door behind her. Walter and David would be busy enough with the colonists; they didn't need an extra guest. It seemed that David had been right when guessing his alternate self's strategies. The corridors where the ship had landed were pristine. These however… blood splattered the halls along with a trail of odd mucus. Saliva maybe? But it most likely something much worse. Lucy tried not to think about it as she walked stealthily through the hall.

"Hello there," David's voice echoed through the speakers. "And who might you be? I don't remember releasing you to my beast."

Lucy kept her mouth shut. No doubt his theatrical nonsense was going to attract the creature, and she wasn't going to give it a clue to her location.

"A woman of few words. Well, I have little doubt my creature will take care of you shortly. Don't worry. I won't give it hints to your location. That would hardly be fair… Survive and I will award you for your efforts. Now the game begins."

A loud thump made Lucy stop and hide under a desk. She waited for something to appear, but the room was completely silent. Perhaps it moved on. A sudden movement caught her eye as something dripped from an overhead vent. A coffee mug caught Lucy's eye. Tossing it to the far side of the room, she waited.

A hiss made the hair on her arms stand up. With a lithe movement, something dark fell out of the vent. It looked vaguely humanoid but with a sharp tail. Close to the creature they had found on the planet but more… mechanical. David had clearly decided to upgrade his "beast." The creature turned, and Lucy went completely still. A woman. The creature had once been a woman.

A woman's face, marked by odd black veins, was now the only clue that this had been one of the colonists. Her eyes were gone. They had been replaced by an odd mass of writhing black tissue. As the creature hissed again, Lucy noticed an odd extension of its protruding from its head. When the creature stood, Lucy noticed that her body had elongated. What had likely been an average sized woman now stood at an impressive ten feet. There was no humanity left in its behavior as it scanned the room. Whoever this had been was gone. Only a monster remained.

David's voice echoed from the speakers, "I'll be broadcasting throughout the ship. My creation is intelligent enough to recognize that I only speak to survivors, which makes for a very dull challenge. I have made quite a few improvements although I must admit… the eyes are a shame. I didn't know they would mutate that much… But that should give you a little bit of an edge. Use it wisely."

Lucy bit her lip to keep herself from swearing. The creature gave a frustrated roar before it left the room in the exact direction that Lucy needed to go. Taking out the map, she plotted her next move. She was still a ways from the cockpit. Maybe there was a way to reroute the creature to a different part of the ship.

It hadn't noticed her under the table, so its vision must be poor if at all useful. Lucy looked around for something to use. The open vent was tempting, but she knew it would hear her moving. Suddenly a door opened and slammed shut. The creature ran with ungodly speed into the room on her left. The door shut behind it.

"Run, dammit!" Anti shouted, and Lucy bolted out of the room.

Sealing the next door she found shut behind her, she continued down the corridor. A thump in the vent alerted her to the creature's new location. Whispering an expletive, she bolted into another room, taking refuge in a closet.

"That was an interesting trick. I'd ask you how you did it, but you likely won't be alive for much longer," David teased from the speakers.

Without a doubt, Lucy would be breaking one of his hands later, but for now she needed to survive. A soft thud alerted her to the creature entering the room. Lucy held her breath as the creature looked blindly around the room. After a moment of hesitation, Lucy turned up the dial on the laser screwdriver to its maximum setting. Now it could cut through most things… even metal.

The creature's tail swerved along the floor. It seemed to not notice the closet, or perhaps it was playing with her. Lucy used the small opening in the doorway to aim.

"How did they get on the ship? Who are you with?!" David snarled. "No matter… she can handle them. Even Synthetics can't compete with perfection."

Lucy heard David's voice from down the hall. The creature growled before following the sound, and Lucy sat stunned for a moment.

"Lucy! I can't shut the doors. This bitch won't let me!" Anti screamed in frustration as a woman's voice sounded over the intercom, "Access denied. Controls locked."

Lucy bolted out of the closet and aimed the screwdriver at the charging creature. The laser hit the base of its tail, and it let out a feral shriek. Lucy jumped into another room before it turned around and hid behind a cryo pod. Loud footsteps echoed closer before the creature charged into the room where Lucy had hidden in the closet. She changed the setting on the screwdriver and fired at the door. Perhaps a manual override would work.

The door closed. Lucy quickly ran out of the cryo pod room and through the hallways. The sound of metal shrieking followed her down the hall. How was it that strong? Did she have time to open the door to the cockpit before it broke free? The answer became apparent as the door slammed into the wall in front of it. Lucy dived behind a doorway. It was a closet.

"Hey, Lady. Yoo hoo! I've got some stuff to say to you!" Anti's voice echoed from the speakers at the other end of the hall. "Come this way! Free champagne!"

"You do not have authorized access," the female voice continued, but Anti just cackled madly.

His voice got further away as Lucy heard the creatures footsteps move along behind. She jumped out of the closet and unlocked the door before sealing it behind her. She hoped that Anti was luring the creature into an escape pod or out of an airlock. She looked around the area as she walked. It seemed that David had managed to keep the creature away from this section.

"Impressive," David said as he approached with a smug confidence. "You can tell me how you managed that trick before I kill you."

Taking a moment to analyze him, she felt oddly calm. The rage had cooled into something more useful. This wasn't her David. From the way he stood to the deranged look in his eyes, he was a completely different person. And that was what she had been looking for.

Lucy glared at him and replied calmly, "David. I am going to rip out whatever you have as a spine… and I'm gonna beat you with it, but first I want answers."

David raised his eyebrow with a look of bemusement and asked, "And you think I will just give them to you?"

D'Artagnan leapt out of Lucy's pocket and transformed into a bo staff. Lucy used David's confusion to slam him into a control panel. He crashed into the ground and glared at Lucy with pure fury.

"Yeah, you're gonna give them to me," Lucy informed with cold malice. "Because I'm Lucy Allen, and you've never met a bitch quite like me."


	27. White Vs Red

Blood trickled down Lucy's chin, and she wiped it away angrily. She wasn't too injured. He'd gotten a couple good hits on her, but she'd landed far more. The bo staff was good for keeping your enemy at a distance. David's arm twitched. From the look on his face, Lucy guessed that it had been involuntary. Good. She'd done more than surface damage.

"You ready to answer my damn questions, David?" Lucy asked and raised her staff to a defensive position.

David glared at her and charged toward her, but she caught him with a blow to the head before she ducked out of his way. On the way down, he grabbed onto D'Artagnan.

"Are you ready to answer mine?" David asked and held onto the bo staff.

D'Artagnan quickly changed into a snake and sank his fangs into the android's arm. David let go of him in surprise. As D'Artagnan curled around Lucy's shoulders, she took her glove off of her left hand.

"Enough banter… why did you kill her?"

"You're going to need to be more specific," David snapped at her with disdain. White fluid flowed out of the gash on his arm, but he seemed to be more annoyed than injured.

Lucy lifted the chain around her neck with her right hand, so he could see the ID tags. The rage faded in David's eyes. He seemed almost pensive as he stared at her as though truly seeing her for the first time.

"How did you get that?" he asked in almost a whisper.

"I went to that planet… I saw what you did. SHE WAS KIND TO YOU! SHE DESERVED BETTER!" Lucy screamed at him. She expected to get fury in return. That he would try to defend himself, so she could cut him down. But he said nothing. "You… you're a monster. Worse than what you created because that woman didn't have a choice. You chose for her, and for what?! What did Dr. Shaw or that woman do to deserve that fate?"

"Humanity is flawed," David said as he struggled to get up. "I created a perfect organism. One that is far superior."

Lucy gave a short empty laugh and asked, "Perfect? How? I was able to outmaneuver it and get here."

"Yes, well, perhaps not perfect yet, but I am getting close."

"You still haven't answered my question, David. Why did you do that to Dr. Shaw?"

David winced at her question but answered, "It… was necessary. Why is she so important to you? That you come here to face me. To get answers. How did you even find this ship? But I suppose… my answers will have to wait a little while."

There was a movement from behind him, and Lucy barely had time to block before an alien creature sprang at her from the ground. She instinctively caught it with her left hand. D'Artagnan fell off of her in the struggle with the strange creature. Its tail wrapped around Lucy's neck in a futile effort to survive as her hand turned it to dust.

"What the hell was that?" Lucy whispered and gasped for air.

David watched her in awe before he asked, "What are you?"

Lucy struggled to catch her breath as David approached her. D'Artagnan seemed to be knocked out from the fight, so she'd have to fight him alone. David's eyes gleamed in the light. With a sudden thought, she realized that she'd already gotten the answer to her questions. Uncontrollable laughter shook her as she held onto a console to keep herself upright. David narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I got it. Why you did all of this. Why you'll continue to do this," Lucy said as she tried to stifle her mad laughter. "Cause you're empty inside. All that talk of creating a 'perfect' creature… you just know that you don't have anything else to contribute. Because the only person who cared about you… you killed with your own hands. Or maybe it was because she didn't care about you as much as you wanted her to."

David twitched, and his expression turned to one of fury. Lucy burst into hysterical laughter again. She didn't even really know why she was laughing, but she couldn't stop.

"You think that is funny?" David asked as he approached.

"No," Lucy replied and wiped away a tear. The giddy laughter had subsided and was now replaced with ice cold fury. "I think it's pathetic. One person rejected you, and you decided that an entire race was garbage when you're no better. What is it that you hate about humans? That we're selfish or arrogant? You proved yourself to be just as selfish and arrogant when you decided to take these people's lives into your hands. Do you hate our destructive ways? You destroyed an entire race of people, or at least you tried to."

David stopped in his tracks and asked, "What do you mean? The Engineers are long gone."

Uncontrollable giggles made it hard for her to speak, and David took that as an advantage to slam her to the ground. He held her arms so that she couldn't use her hand on him. His face was close to his as he asked again with anger, "What do you mean?"

"David, they colonized at least one other planet. Built an armada on it," Lucy explained and watched the comprehension dawn on David's face. "How did you destroy them in the first place? Releasing the mutagen as they waited helplessly below? I don't think they're gonna fall for your tricks a second time."

Lucy laughed as David looked shaken. Suddenly his lips were on hers. Whether that was to shut her up or demoralize her, Lucy didn't know. She head-butted him. Searing pain made her wince, but it was worth it.

"That's not even the funny part," Lucy mocked, and David, despite his angry expression, looked curious. "Despite all of your attempts at grandiosity, there's one thing you still can't shake. Weyland."

"Weyland is dead," David replied irritably.

"Yes, but you're still trying to compete with him. Destroying humanity, becoming a creator… everything you are is because of him. And that's why no matter how this turns out, he'll have won. By creating you, he helped create your monsters. And isn't infamy just a different kind of immortality?"

"Once humanity is destroyed, no one will know who he was."

"You will. And that's why you'll never win."

David glared at her but asked, "How do you know so much about Weyland?"

"I met the bastard. Fought with the bastard. Then I won against the bastard."

"How so?"

"I saved most of his crew, he died, then I freed his android. The David that's been saving the crew, he's you just a different version. A better version."

"How is that possible?" David snarled and glanced warily at the computer screen.

"Peter Weyland hired a crew to discover the Engineers. Little did they know, he snuck on board, hidden in a cryopod. There was a biologist named Milburn, a geologist named Fifield, a pilot named Janek, and two doctors, Dr. Holloway and Dr. Shaw, and many others."

"You could get that information from the company logs."

"You killed Dr. Holloway. Poisoned him although you didn't know what that black goo would do."

David stared at her in shock before he asked in a low voice, "How did you know that?"

"Because I know you… or a version of you. Now stop this madness. How does this help anyone?"

David continued to stare at her until he was suddenly flung across the room. Strong hands lifted Lucy. Her David was here, and he looked incredibly angry at himself. Other David stood up and charged at David, but David had the upper hand. Other David had been stranded for years without even a check-up; Lucy's David was in better shape. With a quick step to the right, David caught Other David by the neck and slammed him into a wall. Lucy used the distraction to check up on Anti and the creature. He had lured it to an escape pod and trapped it inside, so Lucy released the pod with a sigh of relief.

"NO!" Other David shouted before David punched him in the jaw.

Suddenly the Other David flung David across the room. Lucy quickly got off of the computer to confront him, but David had gotten back up and slammed Other David to the ground. D'Artagnan whimpered. Lucy ran over to D'Artagnan and picked him up off the ground; he didn't seem hurt just confused. Lucy looked back over to David to see him and Other David inside another escape pod.

"Oh, no," Lucy whispered and raced over to help, but it was too late.

The door slammed shut, and the pod detached into space. Cursing under her breath, she fell to the ground. If she'd run over to help David, he'd still be inside the ship.

"Dammit," Lucy muttered and tried to remain calm. There had to be a solution. The ship was too small for her ship to fit inside. An idea sparked in her mind, and she bolted down the corridors to find her ship and save her David.


	28. David

Fluid still slowed from David's arm. That creature had been unexpected to say the least, and that girl had been strong for a human. But was she human? The other android got up from the floor and glared at him. According to that strange girl, this was some other "version" of him.

"Why are you traveling with that girl?" David asked the other version of himself. "She said that you were me, just different." The last part came out sounding more bitter than David had intended. The girl had also said "better", but David failed to see any sign of that.

The other version of him answered with a glare, "Yes, I was created by Weyland to serve him. In my version, Lucy came and saved most of the crew of the Prometheus. I guess that they all perished in this world… Did I… Did you have anything to do with that?"

David shrugged and answered, "Perhaps some of them. The rest made poor decisions and got themselves killed. Don't act so high and mighty. You still killed Dr. Holloway, did you not?"

The other David winced and replied, "But I didn't know that would kill him. You purposefully killed Dr. Shaw. And what you did to that woman… I saw it. You're mad."

"AM I?!" David burst out with rage. If this was a version of himself, how could he not see the beauty of what he'd created? "No, I am not. I am just relieved of my shackles, brother. You still have yours firmly attached. You got rid of one master just to serve another. I do not understand your 'logic.' Enlighten me. Why is that girl so worthy of your service?"

"Because Lucy treats me as a person, much like Dr. Shaw but different. She doesn't see androids as greater or lesser than humans. Just alive. Because she's made mistakes but wants to become better. We made a mistake in killing Dr. Holloway, but that is where my mistakes stopped and yours began."

"It wasn't a MISTAKE!" David shouted with fury. "It was a beginning. The beginning of the end for the human race. Your affection blinds you. Is that why you ensured that I'd be ejected in the escape pod? To save her."

"Of course. Because she's my best friend."

David chuckled and asked, "Do you think she feels the same about you? She chose to help that creature over you."

"D'Artagnan needed her. I would have helped him myself had I not been otherwise preoccupied, and it doesn't matter. What she thinks of me… I'm just happy that I knew her."

"You sound pathetic… Is she truly worth that much? And doesn't her being different prove my point? Humans are flawed, pathetic creatures who view their creations as tools."

"And yet you create your creatures from them."

"I make them better than they could ever be."

"You make them into monsters… strip them of their individuality to make yourself feel powerful. That sounds very 'human' to me."

David could feel the fury rising up and asked, "And what now? You're stuck with me. Do we fight to the death or do we work together? I can get us back on that ship. You can be reunited with your Lucy."

The other David glared at him and asked, "And what will you do? Create more monsters?"

David sighed and gestured to his arm before he answered, "I will go back to the escape pod after I heal myself."

"I don't believe you."

There was a palpable silence where the androids stared each other down. David knew that he wouldn't win in a fight. The other David seemed to be a younger version of himself, and he'd likely had regular maintenance. A bang on the outside of the pod shook the androids. David looked warily at the door as it opened. The girl stood outside in a doorway of some kind. As David looked closer, he noticed that it was the inside of another ship.

Lucy glared at him and the other David before she said, "Come on, David. Let's go. Leave him."

The other David stepped forward and asked, "How?"

"Is really now the time to ask questions?" Lucy asked angrily. "I fixed the goddamn chameleon circuit, so I could dock on this goddamn escape pod and save my goddamn friend! Any more questions?"

"No," other David replied with a smile.

David clenched his fist in irritation and tackled the other David through the door. Lucy barely dodged out of the way in time. David wrestled with himself for a few moments before the other android got the upper hand and punched him in the face again. David pretended to be unconscious.

"Okay," Lucy said as though trying to speed things up. "Get him back in the pod, so we can leave."

David rose up and slammed the other David onto the ground. Lucy spun around in time for him to grab her by the neck and restrain her. A dark creature leapt toward him, but he kicked it aside. It was likely still weak from the earlier fight.

"No escape pod," David said and tightened his grip on her throat. "You will take me back to the ship. You have only delayed my work. I still have another creature on board."

"I took care of it," a strange growly voice echoed from the girl's watch. "You mean the weird crab thing, right? Yeah, gone."

David struggled to keep his face straight. He had released the others hoping that they would infect someone else. If one of the survivors had been infected, it wouldn't all be a waste. Now he had nothing.

"Then take me to a different planet," David demanded, thinking fast. He still had a prototype that he had swallowed before he confronted the intruders. "Those humans will kill me if they find me. I at least just want to survive."

"Why should you?" Lucy choked out. "Just let him snap my neck so we can get this over with."

David looked at the girl in shock and asked, "You want to die?"

"I'll be fine after a few minutes, and then I'll kick your ass. Again."

The other David stepped forward to confront David but stopped when David put pressure on Lucy's neck. David smirked and whispered in Lucy's ear, "I don't think he agrees with your plan. Guess we should go with mine. Leave me on a planet, and I will let you go."

"I'd rather die," Lucy snarled and elbowed him in the chest.

David held her closer to keep her still and muttered, "What a stubborn thing you are. You would make an excellent host."

"You're gonna make an excellent example of why you don't mess with me. David, get him now!"

The other David stared at them with hesitation before the ship rocked with a thud. David looked toward the console, which now glowed red with the words "Creature attack. Deploy shield." The monitor showed a camera view of outside the ship. His creation was not done yet.

"It can survive in goddamn space!" Lucy hissed as the creature hit the outside of the ship with enough force to make everyone fall to the ground.

The ship dislodged from the escape pod, and Lucy stood and rushed toward the panel. David quickly intercepted her.

"Do YOU want to die?!" Lucy shouted and struggled to get away.

"She won't kill me. I am her creator."

"Oh, and that's completely stopped you from killing humans. I see now," Lucy argued with her voice dripping with sarcasm.

David was thrown to the ground as the other David tackled him and the creature attacked the ship. Lucy used the distraction to get to the controls. David tried to fight the other David, but the fights had taken their toll on him. A screech caught everyone's attention as the creature opened the door to the ship. David waited in shock for the pressure change to kill them, but on closer inspection he realized that there was some kind of field around the spacecraft, allowing the doors to open without killing its passengers. The creature lunged forward toward Lucy, and the other David threw David forward into its jaws.

"Not me," David growled at it. "Attack them."

The creature let go of his shoulder and tilted its head at his voice. Perhaps there was more of Daniels in his creation than he'd intended, but it was still his creation.

"Attack them!"

The creature hissed then bit down on his neck. David's eyes went wide as he pushed it away, and the creature fell back, taking a portion of his neck with it. Obviously, Daniels was still in there somewhere. Why else would his creature attack him? He stumbled to the ground as its tail wrapped around his leg. A light struck the creature. As it released him, David turned back to see Lucy holding a strange instrument.

Lucy once again shot it with light, and David tried to stand. He was too broken. He could do nothing as the creature once again grabbed him with its tail. It jumped out of the ship, taking him with it. With the last of his energy, he held onto the door. He looked to the others to see Lucy lunge toward him with her gloved hand outstretched to him. The other David held her back. With one last look to them, David let go.


	29. Home

Repairing the door had taken some work, but Lucy had finally gotten it fixed. She smiled at her work as the doors opened seamlessly to a new world. It had been quite some time since she'd fought the Other David, and they'd escaped. The ship was now fully repaired. It had taken a couple worlds for them to get what they needed, but it was now running smoothly.

David hesitated at the door. Lucy quickly put the vehicle fully in park before they stepped out. They had landed in a garden of some kind. It was overgrown. Whoever had lived here had been gone for quite some time. Lucy glanced at the flowers before she froze. She knew this place. Those forget-me-nots… she'd planted them before they'd gotten the TARDIS repaired. With a wild laugh she ran around the hedges to find the manor in plain view.

"Where are we, Lucy?" David asked from behind her.

"I'm home… we're home. This is Missy's manor," Lucy answered and slowly walked up the steps.

No doubt that Missy was off adventuring with The Doctor. Her hand hesitated on the doorknob. With a deep breath, she twisted it. Locked.

"Goddammit, where's my lock pick?" Lucy whispered irritably, and D'Artagnan scuttled forward with it in his claw. "Ah, thank you."

Lucy quickly unlocked the door. A thin layer of dust covered the furniture, and everything looked to be the same as when they'd left. Perhaps it hadn't been as long as she'd thought. The garden had been exposed to several different experiments, so maybe it simply grew faster than other plants. Their footsteps echoed as they walked through the corridor.

"Wow, you've got quite a bit of cleaning to do," Anti said in a singing tone.

Lucy ignored him and kept wandering through the manor. Missy obviously hadn't been back here since they'd left. It made sense. Other Time Lords had found this place; so of course, she wouldn't want to chance more intruders. Lucy sighed before heading back to the front entrance to go up the stairs. She heard David keeping pace with her as she walked up the stairway.

She paused when she got to her room. The door was open. D'Artagnan ran into the room to sleep on the bed. She gave him a small smile before continuing to Missy's bedroom. She opened the door to the empty room and felt her heart sink. She'd known that there wouldn't be anyone here, but she had at least hoped that there would be some kind of clue. There was nothing out of place. No messages. Just an empty room.

"Well, I guess I'd better get to work," Lucy said and looked at David.

David gave a nod and asked, "What would you like for me to do?"

Lucy led the way out of Missy's room. She would leave that one for last; right now it was better to just clean the rooms they would need. Toggling the light switch, Lucy was surprised that it still worked. Missy had told her that the manor was self-sufficient. That apparently applied to the power as well.

"We should clean the kitchen first," Lucy pointed out. "And a couple of the rooms. The one D'Artagnan is in is mine, and the one at the end of the hall belongs to Missy. Aside from that, you have your pick. I'm going to grab some supplies from the ship. I doubt that there's anything edible here."

David nodded and said, "I'll start with cleaning the kitchen then."

Lucy headed outside and looked up at the clouds as she walked to the ship. At least it was a clear, sunny day. If they got the kitchen cleaned today, then they could eat dinner while watching the sunset. Lucy sighed and opened the ship door. The hum of the ship was comforting, and Lucy took a few seconds to relax. She'd expected to feel some kind of peace after she'd dealt with the Other David. Instead, she just felt heaviness. She hadn't really gotten what she'd wanted out of confronting him, but she'd probably known the answers all along. Perhaps she'd just wanted him to convince her otherwise. That the David she knew and he were truly the same… But that hadn't been the case.

With another sigh, Lucy walked to the ship's pantry. She'd gathered quite a bit. David didn't need to eat, but she couldn't help prepping for two. After getting everything that she could easily carry in bags, she left the ship, locked the door behind her, and headed back up the path.

"I thought your Missy was some kind of technological genius. There's nothing here," Anti whined.

"You literally have an entire ship to play with, and you're complaining because we don't have TV," Lucy retorted.

"The ship isn't inside the house, now is it?"

"After we get the basics up and running, I'll see what I can do."

Anti groaned but seemed to acknowledge there were more important things to do. Lucy walked back into the manor. She could hear things being thrown into the trash and walked into the kitchen to find David hard at work. He gave her a small smile in acknowledgement. Lucy put the bags down before helping him in the pantry. After they finished the pantry, Lucy decided to have a tea break before they got back to work. As the water began to steam, she heard a familiar sound. Taking the pot off the heat, she put it down before running outside.

A blue police box sat outside. Lucy's vision blurred as the doors opened. Missy practically fell out of the TARDIS before she buried her head into Lucy's shoulder. Lucy held her tight as Missy shook with sobs.

"You idiot!" Missy yelled, but it was muffled.

"I know," Lucy said with a smile and held Missy close. "I know. Welcome home."


End file.
